Joy and calm: how an evolutionary functional model of affect regulation informs positive emotions in nature

Key theories of the human need for nature take an evolutionary perspective, and many of the mental well-being benefits of nature relate to positive affect. As affect has a physiological basis, it is important to consider these benefits alongside regulatory processes. However, research into nature and positive affect tends not to consider affect regulation and the neurophysiology of emotion. This brief systematic review and meta-analysis presents evidence to support the use of an existing evolutionary functional model of affect regulation (the three circle model of emotion) that provides a tripartite framework in which to consider the mental well-being benefits of nature and to guide nature-based well-being interventions. The model outlines drive, contentment and threat dimensions of affect regulation based on a review of the emotion regulation literature. The model has been used previously for understanding mental well-being, delivering successful mental health-care interventions and providing directions for future research. Finally, the three circle model is easily understood in the context of our everyday lives, providing an accessible physiological-based narrative to help explain the benefits of nature

30 days wild: who benefits most?

There is a need to provide interventions to improve well-being that are accessible and cost-effective. Interventions to increase engagement with nature are coming to the fore. The Wildlife Trusts 30 Days Wild campaign shows promise as a large-scale intervention for improving public engagement with nature for well-being. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach In total, 273 people fully participated in a repeated measures evaluation comparing baseline measures of nature connection, health, happiness and conservation behaviours with measures post-30 days and 3 months. Findings There were sustained and significant increases for scores in nature connection, health, happiness and conservation behaviours. Those with lower scores at baseline in nature connection, conservation behaviours and happiness showed the most benefit. Older participants and those with higher baseline scores in conservation behaviours were the most likely to sustain their engagement with the campaign. Research limitations/implications Although the design and defined outcomes meet criteria for public health interventions, the self-reported measures, self-selecting sample and attrition are limitations. Originality/value The significant and sustained effects of the campaign on health, happiness and nature connection and conservation make this a promising intervention for improving human’s and nature’s well-being. The large community sample and naturalistic setting for the intervention make these data relevant to future interventions and policy.n/

Striving and competing and its relationship to self-harm in young adults.

Previous research has found that competitive, insecure striving (striving to avoid inferiority) has strong links with psychopathologies, self-harm and appearance anxiety. However, with rates of self-harm in young people rising, it seems important to explore the link between competitive striving and self-harm in young adults. Ninety-two participants completed a series of questionnaires which measured striving to avoid inferiority, self-harm, psychopathologies, social comparison, goal orientation and self-ideals. The results showed that competitive insecure striving was a key predictor of self-harm, depression, anxiety and stress.Mental Health Research Uni

Evaluation of a web-based self-compassion intervention to reduce student assessment anxiety.

Assessment anxiety is associated with excessive worry and cognitive disruption which can contribute to academic failure. Compassion-focused interventions have previously been effective in reducing anxiety, stress and depression among the general population. Aims: This study extended this approach to students whose academic achievement is potentially compromised by assessment anxiety, by evaluating a web-based compassionate imagery intervention. Students (n=48) who self-identified as assessment anxious were randomised to practice either compassionate imagery exercises or to a control condition of practicing relaxation exercises. Students completed measures of test anxiety, mastery and performance learning goals, self-compassion, self-criticism/self-reassurance, depression, anxiety and stress, before and after the two-week intervention. The compassionate imagery exercises improved self-compassion more than the control condition of relaxation exercises did. Both tasks improved students’ wellbeing, and reduced assessment anxiety among those with higher baseline assessment anxiety. Web-based compassionate imagery and relaxation may offer cost-effective interventions for reducing assessment anxiety. More research is needed on the influence of self-compassion on learning processes and academic performance and achievement.University of Derby Research for Learning and Teaching Fund (RLTF

The relationship between nature connectedness and eudaimonic well-being: A meta-analysis

Nature connectedness relates to an individual’s subjective sense of their relationship with the natural world. A recent meta-analysis has found that people who are more connected to nature also tend to have higher levels of self-reported hedonic well-being; however, no reviews have focussed on nature connection and eudaimonic well-being. This meta-analysis was undertaken to explore the relationship of nature connection with eudaimonic well-being and to test the hypothesis that this relationship is stronger than that of nature connection and hedonic well-being. From 20 samples (n = 4758), a small significant effect size was found for the relationship of nature connection and eudaimonic well-being (r = 0.24); there was no significant difference between this and the effect size (from 30 samples n = 11638) for hedonic well-being (r = 0.20). Of the eudaimonic well-being subscales, personal growth had a moderate effect size which was significantly larger than the effect sizes for autonomy, purpose in life/meaning, self-acceptance, positive relations with others and environmental mastery, but not vitality. Thus, individuals who are more connected to nature tend to have greater eudaimonic well-being, and in particular have higher levels of self-reported personal growth.University of Derb

Fears of compassion in a depressed population: Implication for psychotherapy

Background: While psychological therapies for depression have advanced in the last 20 years, still many people respond only partially and remain vulnerable to relapse. Insight into the limitations of our psychological therapies might be obtained from recent research that has revealed, in nonclinical populations, that some people can be fearful of positive emotions especially affiliative and compassion-focused ones. Aims: This study explores the fears of compassion in a clinical population and their associations with selfcriticism, self-compassion and depression, anxiety and stress. Method: 53 depressed patients completed a series of self-report scales. Results: Fears of compassion, particularly for oneself and from others, were strongly linked to self-criticism, depression, anxiety and stress, and negatively associated with self-compassion and self-reassurance. Conclusions: Since compassion and the affiliative emotions associated with compassion play a fundamental role in emotion regulation, individuals who are blocked or fearful of accessing these emotions are likely to be struggle with emotional regulation and the psychotherapeutic process. Research on the fears of compassion and affiliative emotions suggests these are important therapeutic targets.N/

Fears of negative emotions in relation to fears of happiness, compassion, alexithymia and psychopathology in a depressed population: A preliminary study

Abstract Objectives: While fears of negative or aversive emotions are linked to experiential avoidance and psychopathology, recent studies have also focused on the relation between psychopathology and fear of positive emotions. This study explores 1. which negative emotions of anger, anxiety and sadness on most feared and avoided and 2. the links between fears and avoidance of negative emotions, with fears of positive and affiliative emotions, alexithymia, and self-reported depression anxiety and stress. Method: A new scale was developed to measure fears of three negative emotions anxiety anger and sadness. 52 participants suffering from moderate to severe depression completed this measure, along with fear of happiness, fears of compassion, alexithymia and psychopathology. Results: Interestingly fears of negative emotions were not correlated with each other; in other words one can be frightened of one negative emotion but not another. The correlation between the fear of an emotion and the avoidance of that emotion was different for the three negative emotions, with fear of anger being the most strongly linked to its avoidance. Fear of sadness was the only feared ‘negative’ emotion associated with depression. Fear of sadness and fear of anger, but not anxiety also linked to fears of positive emotions and alexithymia. Conclusions: Fears of (so called) negative emotions vary in terms of the degree to which people are fearful of them and avoid them. Importantly it was sadness, a neglected emotion in the studies of emotion avoidance, which accounted for the higher proportion of variance for depression and alexithymia.N/

Styles of leadership, fears of compassion, and competing to avoid inferiority.

There is general agreement that styles of leadership evolved from mammalian group living strategies that form social ranks. In both non-human primates and humans, different styles of hierarchical dominant-subordinate and leader-follower behavior can be observed. These can be described in terms of dimensions of antisocial (relatively self-focused, aggressive and threat-based) and prosocial (relatively empathic, caring, and supportive) interpersonal styles. The aim of this study was to explore how a set of established self-report questionnaires might relate to these two dimensions. Two hundred and nineteen students completed questionnaires assessing ruthless self-advancement, coalition building, and dominant leadership styles, as well as hypercompetitiveness, narcissism, striving to avoid inferiority, compassion focused and ego focused goals, fears of compassion, social safeness and attachment (in)security. A principal component analysis supported an antisocial leadership style factor which comprised of ruthless self-advancement, narcissism and hypercompetitiveness. This was significantly correlated with fears of compassion, ego focused goals, insecure striving (striving to avoid inferiority), fears of losing out, fears of being overlooked, fears of being rejected, and avoidant relating in close relationships. It was significantly negatively correlated with compassionate goals. As the results did not reveal a clear factor solution for a prosocial leadership style, we chose to use the coalition building leadership style variable. This showed the opposite pattern, being significantly negatively correlated with narcissism, hypercompetitiveness, fears of compassion, fears of active rejection, and avoidance in close relationships. It was significantly positively correlated with secure striving, compassionate goals, and social safeness. We also found that fears of compassion for others was a partial mediator of the relationship between insecure striving with antisocial leadership style. Moreover, lower fears of compassion for the self emerged as a key mediator for the relationship between non-avoidant attachment with coalition building leadership style and, secure non-striving with coalition building leadership style. While the motive to accumulate social power, resources and dominance may be linked to antisocial forms of leadership, the intensity of the drive may also be linked to unaddressed threats and fears of rejection and fears of compassion. Efforts to promote more ethical, moral and prosocial forms of leadership may falter if such fears are left unaddressed.This research was supported by a donation received by the Compassionate Mind Foundation charity (https://compassionatemind.co.uk/) from Slimming World

The physiological and emotional effects of touch: Assessing a hand-massage intervention with high self-critics

Research demonstrates that highly self-critical individuals can respond negatively to the initial introduction of a range of therapeutic interventions. Yet touch as a form of therapeutic intervention in self-critical individuals has received limited prior investigation, despite documentation of its beneficial effects for well-being. Using the Forms of Self-Criticism/Self-Reassuring Scale, 15 high- and 14 low- self-critical individuals (from a sample of 139 females) were recruited to assess how self-criticism impacts upon a single instance of focused touch. All participants took part in a hand massage- and haptic control- intervention. Salivary cortisol and alpha amylase, as well as questionnaire measures of emotional responding were taken before and after the interventions. Following hand massage, analyses revealed cortisol decreased significantly across all participants; and that significant changes in emotional responding reflected well-being improvements across all participants. Supplementary analyses further revealed decreased alpha amylase responding to hand massage as compared to a compassion-focused intervention in the same (highly self-critical) individuals. Taken together, the physiological and emotional data indicate high self-critical individuals responded in a comparable manner to low self-critical individuals to a single instance of hand massage. This highlights that focused touch may be beneficial when first engaging highly self-critical individuals with specific interventions.This research was part funded by the Compassionate Mind Foundatio

Searching compassion in a crowd: Evaluation of a novel compassion visual search task to reduce self-criticism

Background: The ability to appropriately process social stimuli such as facial expressions is crucial to emotion regulation and the maintenance of supportive interpersonal relationships. Cognitive Bias Modification Tasks (CBMTs) are being investigated as potential interventions for those who struggle to appropriately process social stimuli. Aims: Two studies aimed to assess the effectiveness of a novel computerised ‘Compassion Game’ CBMT compared with a validated ‘Self-Esteem Game’ (Study 1, n=66) and a Neutral Control Game (Study 2, n=59). Method: In each study, baseline, post-task, and one-month follow-up measures of 3 self-reported forms of self-criticism (inadequate self, hated self, and self-reassurance) were used to examine the benefits of two weeks’ attentional training. Results: Analyses show that the novel Compassion Game significantly reduced inadequate self-criticism at post and one-month follow-up (Studies 1 and 2) and increased self-reassurance (Study 1). Results also show that the Self-Esteem (Study 1) and the Neutral Control Game (Study 2), which also used social stimuli, produced reductions in inadequate self-criticism. Conclusions: Results suggest that training one’s attention toward social stimuli can improve inadequate self-criticism. Implications for the use of compassionate stimuli in such CBMTs are discussed.Leverhulme Trus