Self-Compassion in Depression and Anxiety Disorders

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of self-compassion, psychological well-being, and self-esteem in patients suffering from depression and anxiety disorders, as well as the relationship between them.Method: The study included 100 patients with depressive disorders and 100 patients with anxiety disorders who applied to Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic and agreed voluntarily to participate in the study, and also 100 healthy controls. Sociodemographic data form, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) were applied to the participants.Results: According to the findings of the scales applied to the groups; there was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of well-being, self-esteem, and self-understanding (p<0.001). The distribution of median values (m(Q1-Q3)) of self -understanding levels by groups is as follows; depression group (60(48-72)), anxiety disorders group (71(58-84)) and healthy control group (93(88-97)). In the Pearson correlation analysis, it was determined that self-compassion showed the strongest correlation with self-esteem in the depression group (r=0.594, p<0.001).Conclusion: As a result of the strong correlations between psychological well-being and self-esteem, it has been determined that it is critical to prioritize self-compassion in depression and anxiety disorders accompanied by depressive symptoms.