TY - JOUR T1 - Can compassion help cure health-related disorders? JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 177 LP - 178 DO - 10.3399/bjgp17X690329 VL - 67 IS - 657 AU - Edo Shonin AU - William Van Gordon AU - Javier Garcia-Campayo AU - Mark D Griffiths Y1 - 2017/04/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/67/657/177.abstract N2 - Findings supporting the clinical applications of mindfulness have stimulated research into other meditation techniques. In particular, there is growing scientific enquiry into the effectiveness of Buddhist-derived compassion techniques for treating a wide variety of health-related disorders. Compassion-Based Interventions (CBIs) usually employ compassion meditation as a central therapeutic technique and invariably follow a secular format (with minimal use of Buddhist terminology). Compassion meditation is described as the meditative development of affective empathy as part of the visceral sharing of others’ suffering.1 The technique involves the patient using meditative imagery and/or breathing practices in order to intentionally direct compassionate feelings towards 1) themselves (known as self-compassion); 2) an individual (for example, a friend or person deemed to be a cause of distress, such as a difficult work colleague); 3) a group of individuals (or ‘living beings’ in general); and/or 4) a situation (for example, the devastation caused by a natural disaster or war).1 While cultivating such feelings, the patient has conviction that they are … ER -