Loving-kindness meditation was feasible for people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders who had significant negative symptoms. Participation was associated with decreased negative symptoms and increased positive emotions and psychological recovery.
Positive emotions broaden cognition and build durable resources that support coping and flourishing mental health. Momentary emotional experiences can accrue into self-perpetuating systems, producing lasting affective dispositions. This framework explains cognitive-emotional mechanisms in depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation are highlighted as interventions that generate positive emotions to counter negative affective processes in these disorders. The review proposes that positive emotions may counteract dysphoric, fearful, or anhedonic states characteristic of psychopathologies with emotional dysfunctions.