Self-compassion may ease out post-divorce blues

Self-compassion, a trait defined as a concoction of being kind to oneself, recognizing common humanity, and the attitude to free the painful emotions 'can promote resilience and positive outcomes’, makes it easier to cope with divorce distress, researchers say.

The study
For the study, David A. Sbarra, psychologist at the University of Arizona, and colleagues Hillary L. Smith and Matthias R. Mehl, enrolled 105 people, 38 men and 67 women with an average age of 40 years.

All participants had been married for over 13 years and divorced since three to four months on an average.

Each participant was required to think and express his or her feelings and thoughts related to their former partner and on their adjustment to the divorce. The participants’ feelings were recorded and the audio files were assessed and rated on participants' levels of self-compassion by four trained coders.

The exercise was carried out at four points during the study – at commencement, at three months, six months and nine months.

Findings of the study
Participants who exhibited high levels of self-compassion recovered faster and were doing better after a few months of their divorces vis-à-vis counterparts who missed out or fell short on the trait, researchers found.

“The surprising part here is that when we look at a bunch of positive characteristics (self-esteem, resistance to depression, optimism, or ease with relationships), this one characteristic -self-compassion - uniquely predicts good outcomes,” study’s lead researcher, Sbarra said.

Researchers feel that the findings may help people take break-ups in better spirits rather than getting stuck in malice and accusations.

The findings of the study are published in journal Psychological Science.