Priming ideas of non-attachment in mindfulness practice alleviates state rumination and increases satisfaction with life

Mindfulness-based interventions are known to produce a myriad of effects on psychological and physiological health. A core aspect of mindful thinking is non-attachment, defined as the attenuation of fixation. Influencing cognition has been shown to improve health. This study aimed to examine the effect of priming non-attachment through a brief mindfulness-based intervention. The study included 154 participants recruited using convenience sampling. Measures of state rumination and satisfaction with life were collected before and after a meditative breathing intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to either a non-attachment primer group or a mindful breathing primer group. Primers were administered before the intervention, and non-attachment to the self was measured post-intervention. Results revealed significant decreases in state rumination and increases in satisfaction with life in both primer groups, with the non-attachment primer yielding greater improvements in post-intervention measures. There was a significant interaction between time and condition for state rumination and a near-significant interaction for satisfaction with life. Mindfulness expertise partially moderated these effects.