A study titled “Can self-compassion help us better understand the impact of pulmonary hypertension on those with the condition and their carers? A cross-sectional analysis” was recently published on Pulmonary Circulation. It was conducted on adults with pulmonary hypertension (n = 65) and caregivers (n = 29), who completed self-report measures on demographic and clinical factors, anxiety, depression, self-compassion, and, in those with pulmonary hypertension, health-related quality of life, and in carers, caregiver burden. The authors say that the ability to be “self-compassionate” (“being kind to oneself by taking a patient, gentle, tolerant, accepting, and nonjudgmental approach, especially in times of pain, failure, and life difficulties”) is known to be involved in adjustment in other long term conditions and features in the provision of care for a number of these. The study findings reveal that greater self-compassion was associated with fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression and greater health-related quality of life in individuals with pulmonary hypertension, and lower burden in caregivers. The study suggests that psychological and supportive interventions that help build self-compassion may be useful to develop and test in this clinical group.
This open access article can be viewed at this link on the Pulmonary circulation web page
Citation
“Can self-compassion help us better understand the impact of pulmonary hypertension on those with the condition and their carers? A cross-sectional analysis”, Pulmonary circulation, Gregg H. Rawlings, Barbora Novakova, Iain Armstrong, Andrew R. Thompson, First published: 06 March 2023, https://doi.org/10.1002/pul2.12208
See also
“Self-compassion linked with anxiety, depression in PH: Study”, by Steve Bryson, PhD, Pulmonary Hypertension News, April 3, 2023, at this link