Difficult people can beat blues if they practise compassion

Washington, Sept. 23: Turns out, little acts of kindness can reduce depression in disagreeable individuals. The most difficult individuals, who are also the least likely to be kind, can surprisingly, benefit the most from behaving compassionately, a new study has revealed.

More than 640 people who were mildly suffering from depression took part in the study which tracked the results of online compassion training. Researchers asked the participants, who were on an average in their mid- 30s, to take part in one of three online compassion intervention exercises including a control condition. They were asked to complete their exercise and report back via an online platform every other day for three weeks.

Two months later, disagreeable participants who performed acts of kindness in close relationships showed the greatest reductions in depression and the greatest increase in life satisfaction.

“Everybody needs people, as a result of their hostility and lack of cooperation, disagreeable types risk getting rejected or ostracized. There is a lot of conflict in their relationships, and they suffer the consequences. We found that providing concrete suggestions to those individuals, giving them ways in which they could express empathic concern in their close relationships was tremendously helpful,” said lead author Myriam Mongrain.

“Implementing these new behaviours might have left them feeling affirmed and liked in their social circle. This might have been the anti- depressant ingredient in this group,” she added. — ANI