Compassionate hearts protect against wandering minds: Self-compassion moderates the effect of mind-wandering on depression.
Spirituality in Clinical Practice August 2, 2018 Jonathan Greenberg, Tanya Datta, Benjamin G. Shapero et al. 37 citations
Depression is linked to high levels of mind-wandering and low self-compassion. In a depressed sample, mind-wandering was associated with higher depressive symptoms only among those with low self-compassion. Self-compassion predicted improvement in depression. An eight-week Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program increased self-compassion and reduced mind-wandering compared to a treatment-as-usual control group. Longitudinally, increases in mind-wandering were linked to increases in depressive symptoms only among those whose self-compassion decreased. Self-compassion can protect against the harmful effects of mind-wandering in depression, and MBCT effectively targets both protective and risk factors for depression.