Publication: Mindfulness Effects on Anxiety: Disentangling the Role of Decentering and Treatment Expectations

Mindfulness has gained significant popularity as an intervention that encourages individuals to be present, accepting, and non-judgmental in their thoughts. Studies have found that mindfulness interventions can lower anxiety, but how much of its impact is due to decentering compared to the placebo effect?

In a recent online experiment, researchers Daniëlle Bos, Mike Keesman, Arent Roggeveen, Lene Vase, Andrea Evers, and Kaya Peerdeman explored this question. Their study aimed to separate the effects of decentering, a core component of mindfulness where thoughts and feelings are viewed as transient and not reflective of reality, from expectations, a key factor in the placebo effect, in reducing anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic. To do this, they manipulated expectations about the effectiveness of mindfulness and decentering techniques through an audio recording.

The findings were clear: mindful decentering significantly reduced anxiety after the intervention, compared to a sham decentering technique, regardless of participants' expectations about its effectiveness. Those in the mindful decentering group also used more decentering-related words in their reflections, indicating more engagement with the process.

This research highlights that a brief, standardized online mindful decentering intervention can lower pandemic-related anxiety, independent of whether individuals expect it to work. It also underscores decentering as a crucial active component of mindfulness, particularly for anxiety relief, even in nonclinical populations with minimal training.

Read the full scientific article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000578942400039X?via%3Dihub