References
Benefits of mindful compassion for staff, patients and carers
Abstract
Aims and objective:
This study intended to examine the long-term effect on the emotional wellbeing and behaviour change of staff, patients and carers who attended a one-day Macmillan course on mindful compassion.
Methods:
People who attended mindful compassion study days in 2016 and 2017 were invited to participate in an online questionnaire in 2019.
Results:
Nearly 50% (99) of the 200 people who received the invitation completed the survey. Immediately after the course, 38.78% practised mindful compassion as and when required, 28.57% practised when possible, 15.31% practised daily, 13.27% practised 3–4 times a week and 3.5% were not practising. More than half (56%) used mindful compassion to help with home and work life, relationships and family. Two or three years after the course, when asked again, 15.31% of those who answered still practised daily, 11.22% practised 3–4 times a week, 23.47% practised as and when possible and 42.86% did so as needed; 7.14% had not continued practising.
Conclusion:
Training in mindful compassion benefits patients and carers. In both the short and long terms, mindful compassion was found to reduce anxiety, aid sleep, improve pain management and help people feel more empowered, calm and relaxed. It also helped people cope with stressful situations, gave them time for themselves and enabled them to become much more focused.
Mindfulness, or mindful awareness, is derived from a Buddhist tradition, and includes a self-regulation of awareness toward present mental states and processes without judgment while accepting moment-to-moment experiences (Bishop et al, 2006). Mindful self-compassion, developed by Neff and Germer (2013), includes mindfulness as a core element in addition to developing the capacity to actively soothe and comfort oneself during challenging times. Mindful self-compassion is a new field of research arising from ‘an ancient idea’ (Friis et al, 2016).
Self-compassion concerns soothing and comforting the self in difficult times. It involves having an accepting, empathic and kind attitude toward oneself during moments of distress (Albertson et al, 2015). Mindfulness meditation has become increasingly used over the past two decades and can increase self-awareness and self-acceptance in patients (Neff and Germer, 2013).
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