Mindfulness-induced self-transcendence promotes universal love with consequent effects on opioid misuse.
Behaviour Research and Therapy April 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2024.104494 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized clinical trial (secondary analysis) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 187 |
| Population | Adults with comorbid opioid misuse and chronic pain |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) supportive psychotherapy |
| Duration | 8-week intervention, 1-month and 9-month follow-ups |
| Topics | Addiction Meditation |
| Keywords | Compassion Love Nondual awareness |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement increased self-transcendence, which boosted universal love, and that love predicted reduced opioid craving and misuse. |
Abstract
In addition to its health benefits, mindfulness has been theorized in classical contemplative frameworks to elicit self-transcendent experiences as a means of promoting universal love and compassion. Increasing feelings of love may be especially clinically relevant for the treatment of opioid misuse, in that addictive use of opioids dysregulates neurobiological processes implicated in the experience of love. Here we tested these hypotheses in a secondary analysis (n = 187) of data from a randomized clinical trial of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) versus supportive psychotherapy for comorbid opioid misuse and chronic pain. At pre- and post-treatment, participants completed a measure of state self-transcendence immediately following a laboratory-based mindfulness task. Through 9-month follow-up, we assessed changes in universal love and opioid misuse. Participants also completed ecological momentary assessments of opioid craving during the 8-week study interventions and for the following month. Compared to supportive psychotherapy, participants in MORE reported significantly greater increases in mindfulness-induced self-transcendence, which mediated the effect of MORE on increased feelings of universal love. In turn, increases in universal love significantly predicted decreased opioid craving and lower odds opioid misuse through 1- and 9-month follow-ups, respectively. Findings suggest mindfulness-induced self-transcendence may promote feelings of universal love, with possible downstream benefits on reducing addictive behavior.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- The therapeutic role of self-transcendence in moral injury recovery: theory, mechanisms, and clinical implications Frontiers in Psychiatry June 10, 2026
- Treating Chronic Pain by Modulating Phenomenological and Psychophysiological Indices of Self-Transcendence: Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Protocol. JMIR Research Protocols April 23, 2026
- Mindfulness-based interventions for opioid misuse: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment July 30, 2026
Cites 20
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
- The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience Review of General Psychology May 1, 2017
- Self-Transcendence and Mental Health in Oldest-Old Adults Nursing Research 1991
- Self-Transcendence as a Human Phenomenon Journal of Humanistic Psychology April 1, 1966
and 15 more in the library