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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Anxiety and Stress Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1483827

The effect of self-compassion versus mindfulness interventions on autonomic responses to stress in generalized anxiety disorders

Provisionally accepted
Qi Xuejun Qi Xuejun 1Sun Lijun Sun Lijun 1*Shen Yonghui Shen Yonghui 1Luo Xi Luo Xi 2Wang Ying Wang Ying 3*Che Xianwei Che Xianwei 3,4*
  • 1 Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
  • 2 School of Nursing, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
  • 3 Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
  • 4 TMS Centre, Deqing Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: Although research on psychological interventions in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has provided evidence of their effectiveness regarding self-reported outcomes, few studies have examined their psychophysiological effects. Heart rate is emerging as a potential biomarker of efficacy in anxiety disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a selfcompassion intervention versus a mindfulness intervention on physiological arousal in response to induced stress. Methods: Forty-seven patients with GAD had heart rate data collected during a stress task before and after a 2-week pharmacological treatment (known as treatment as usual, TAU), a self-compassion intervention + TAU or a mindfulness intervention + TAU. They also reported state anxiety, positive affect, and negative affect at pre-and post-intervention before the stress task. ANOVAs were conducted to analyze the effects on electrocardiogram data self-reported measurements. Results: Self-compassion intervention uniquely decreased heart rate response to a stressor whereas mindfulness intervention did not. Both treatments decreased state anxiety and negative affect to a stressor, while increased positive affect in this context. We also demonstrated a significant correlation between decreased heart rate response and less negative emotions. Conclusion:The Findings provides novel physiological evidence that self-compassion interventions buffer stress reactivity in individuals with GAD. Attention shall be paid to the limitations in small and unequal sample size and a non-randomized study design.

    Keywords: mindfulness, self-compassion, Heart Rate, generalized anxiety disorder, stress

    Received: 20 Aug 2024; Accepted: 07 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Xuejun, Lijun, Yonghui, Xi, Ying and Xianwei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Sun Lijun, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
    Wang Ying, Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
    Che Xianwei, Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.