Directing self-compassion toward maladaptive self-beliefs in social anxiety

In both studies, participants in the self-compassion condition reported greater expected state self-compassion and positive affect, lower expected anxiety/distress, and fewer expected safety behaviors, compared to controls. Further, participants in the self-compassion condition showed significant reductions in endorsement of maladaptive self-beliefs from pre- to post-induction in both studies. Finally, in Study 1, the reduction in the endorsement of maladaptive self-beliefs for the self-compassion condition, led to reduced anxiety, which was further associated with lower predicted safety behaviors. Directing self-compassion to maladaptive self-beliefs specifically appears fruitful for socially anxious individuals.