Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.)
May 11, 2023
Monique Williams, Cynthia Honan, Sarah Skromanis et al.
22 citations
A systematic review and meta-analysis of eight articles (four independent studies, 334 participants) examined the effects of mindfulness training on anxiety and attention in adults diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder who completed an 8-week manualized program. Mindfulness training produced a large reduction in anxiety symptoms compared to inactive or non-specified controls, but not compared to active controls. Effects on depression, worry, and trait mindfulness were not statistically significant. Changes in aspects of trait mindfulness were found to mediate anxiety reduction. The evidence was limited by few studies, high risk of bias, and low certainty.
Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.)
October 30, 2021
Eli Somer, Etzel Cardeña, Ramiro Figueiredo Catelan et al.
19 citations
Reality shifting (RS) is a mental activity that gained popularity after the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily among post-millennials. Practitioners report using relaxation, focused attention, and autosuggestion to feel they transcend their physical surroundings and enter alternate, often fictional, universes—such as those from Harry Potter. Online forums have over 40,000 members, and RS-related clips have been viewed over 1.7 billion times. Some shifters report a strong sense of presence in these realities, with some believing the alternate world is concretely real. The paper describes RS's phenomenology from online reports, compares it to hypnosis, tulpamancy, dissociation, maladaptive daydreaming, and lucid dreaming, and proposes a theoretical model of interactive factors. It concludes RS is an important, uninvestigated phenomenon and suggests future research.
Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.)
May 1, 2024
Sarah Strohmaier, Simon B. Goldberg
13 citations
Improvements in the quality of mindfulness meditation practice over time are linked to reductions in anxiety and stress and increases in mindfulness, but not the reverse. Data from a randomized controlled trial with 48 novice practitioners from the general population who used low-dose mindfulness practices suggests that practice quality drives better psychological outcomes, supporting its importance even in low-dose and self-help programs.
Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.)
October 1, 2025
Diane Joss
Among young adult survivors of adverse childhood experiences who participated in a mindfulness-based intervention, cultivating non-attachment—the mentality of letting go of the desire to control external and internal experiences—directly reduced obsessive-compulsive symptoms. In a pilot analysis of a randomized controlled trial comparing a mindfulness-based intervention (21 participants) with an active control (19 participants), path analysis showed that only in the mindfulness group did changes in non-attachment scores directly predict changes in obsessive-compulsive symptoms, even after accounting for changes in depression and anxiety. This suggests non-attachment may be a key psychological mechanism through which mindfulness reduces obsessive-compulsive symptoms, distinct from exposure-based explanations.
Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.)
July 22, 2025
Hang Ruan, Jennifer L DelVentura, Andrea C Katz et al.
In a structured mindfulness training program for 112 veterans with chronic pain, practice time and quality improved over the two-month treatment period. Self-reported well-being and health satisfaction also improved, but pain acceptance and pain interference did not change. Veterans whose practice quality improved more steeply reported greater gains in quality of life. However, no link was found between practice quality and other outcomes, nor between practice time and any outcomes. The results suggest that practice quality, rather than practice time, may play a role in improving quality of life for veterans with chronic pain.
Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.)
January 1, 2022
Motohide Miyahara, Rebekah Wilson, Tessa Pocock et al.
Two preliminary studies tested whether brief guided mindfulness meditation increases empathic concern because of verbal suggestion or because of the mindfulness state itself. A pilot randomized trial compared sitting (breath-and-body) meditation with compassion meditation, providing preliminary support for the mindfulness hypothesis. A second study ruled out repeated-measures effects by having an inactive control group undergo the same empathic-concern measures without meditation; no significant changes occurred. Together, the results support the mindfulness hypothesis over the suggestion hypothesis.