Individuals who suffer from social anxiety disorder tend to have lower levels of self-compassion and mindfulness, according to a new study published in Mindfulness.
Social anxiety disorder is a very common mental health condition characterized by the constant fear of being judged by others which leads to avoidance of social interactions. Previous research on social anxiety suggests that self-compassion and mindfulness can be leveraged to treat this disorder. Self-compassion is described as the ability to be kind and non-judgmental towards oneself when facing failure. Mindfulness is a trait that involves being attentive to and accepting of the world around without judging it.
Researchers behind the present study sought to further investigate the relationship between self-compassion, mindfulness and social anxiety disorder. The researchers surveyed 136 adult participants who met the diagnostic criteria for social anxiety disorder. The inventory was designed to measure the severity of social anxiety, self-compassion, mindfulness, and a few other variables related to mental health and well-being.
The obtained results revealed that participants had lower levels of self-compassion and mindfulness compared to the normative population with no mental health disorders. While self-compassion and mindfulness were significantly correlated, the level of self-compassion was found to be a more important predictor of the severity of social anxiety, higher self-esteem, lower depression, and greater life satisfaction.
The researchers explain this finding by suggesting that self-compassion serves as a natural remedy for people suffering from social anxiety who tend to be very self-critical. Additionally, even short training is self-compassion was found effective for reducing post-event processing, a behavior characterized by prolonged rumination over the past even that causes anxiety.
Self-compassion was found to be a mediating link between mindfulness and social anxiety severity. When mediating effects of mindfulness in the relationship between self-compassion and social anxiety were analyzed, only the “describe” skill of mindfulness was found to have a significant effect. This skill involves observing and labeling emotions which may aid one’s emotional regulation.
The study, “Exploring Connections Between Self-Compassion, Mindfulness, and Social Anxiety”, was authored by Elisa Makadi and Diana Koszycki.
