Mindfulness and Compassion for Mental Health

Session 2: Depression

According to the latest Gallup poll on depression in 2023, levels of depression in the United States is at an all-time high (the full report will be available after this session is posted). Those findings are consistent with the National Institute of Health (NIH) findings.

The Oxford Mindfulness Centre in England has been applying and researching mindfulness and depression for almost 30 years. Collectively, their body of research has made a significant contribution to the field of the treatment of depression and has helped untold numbers in their recovery. They created a system of therapy for treating depression, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

In this session, we will take a look at depression and its relationship to anxiety…

… feelings of self-worth, rumination, shame, guilt and depression. Reading this, are you depressed yet? I hope not. Because there many people have been greatly helped by mindfulness and compassion for their symptoms of depression.

Here is a list of articles and studies that have been used in today’s session:

  • Mediating role of self-esteem on the relationship between mindfulness, anxiety, and depression (Bajaj et al., 2016)

  • Self-compassion and symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression (de Souza et al., 2020)

  • Self-compassion, anxiety and depression symptoms; the mediation of shame and guilt (Etemadi Shamsababdi & Dehshiri, 2024)

  • The critical relationship between anxiety and depression (Kalin, 2020)

  • Impact of mindfulness and self-compassion on anxiety and depression: The mediating role of resilience (Pérez-Aranda et al., 2021)

  • Effects of length of mindfulness practice on mindfulness, depression, anxiety, and stress: A randomized controlled experiment (Strohmaier et al., 2021)

  • Why does positive mental health buffer against psychopathology? An exploratory study on self-compassion as a resilience mechanism and adaptive emotion regulation strategy (Trompetter et al., 2017)

    • Bajaj, B., Robins, R. W., & Pande, N. (2016). Mediating role of self-esteem on the relationship between mindfulness, anxiety, and depression. Personality and Individual Differences, 96, 127-131. 

    • de Souza, L. K., Policarpo, D., & Hutz, C. S. (2020). Self-compassion and symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Trends in Psychology, 28(1), 85-98. 

    • Etemadi Shamsababdi, P., & Dehshiri, G. R. (2024). Self-compassion, anxiety and depression symptoms; the mediation of shame and guilt. Psychological Reports, 00332941241227525. 

    • Kalin, N. H. (2020). The critical relationship between anxiety and depression. In (Vol. 177, pp. 365-367): American Psychiatric Association Washington, DC.

    • Pérez-Aranda, A., García-Campayo, J., Gude, F., Luciano, J. V., Feliu-Soler, A., González-Quintela, A., López-del-Hoyo, Y., & Montero-Marin, J. (2021). Impact of mindfulness and self-compassion on anxiety and depression: The mediating role of resilience. International journal of clinical and health psychology, 21(2), 100229. 

    • Strohmaier, S., Jones, F. W., & Cane, J. E. (2021). Effects of length of mindfulness practice on mindfulness, depression, anxiety, and stress: A randomized controlled experiment. Mindfulness, 12, 198-214. 

    • Trompetter, H. R., De Kleine, E., & Bohlmeijer, E. T. (2017). Why does positive mental health buffer against psychopathology? An exploratory study on self-compassion as a resilience mechanism and adaptive emotion regulation strategy. Cognitive therapy and research, 41, 459-468.