A 15-minute guided Tonglen meditation, a Tibetan Buddhist practice of taking in others' suffering and sending them well-being, increased heart rate variability, compassion state, and positive affective responses to suffering in healthcare workers compared to listening to a story. This is the first evidence of the acute effectiveness of Tonglen in this population, suggesting it may help those experiencing empathic distress and burnout.
Both a mindfulness program (MBSR) and a compassion program (CCT) improved mindfulness, decentering, body awareness, and self-compassion in 431 participants. MBSR produced larger gains in present-moment awareness (decentering and body awareness), while CCT produced larger gains in socio-emotional changes (common humanity and empathic concern). Both programs similarly reduced psychological distress (stress, anxiety, depression), maladaptive cognitive processes (rumination, thought suppression), and improved well-being. Mediation analyses indicated that MBSR reduces distress and improves well-being through changes in present-moment awareness mechanisms, whereas CCT achieves the same outcomes through socio-emotional mechanisms.