Kamboj, SK;
Walldén, YSE;
Falconer, CJ;
Alotaibi, MR;
Blagbrough, IS;
Husbands, SM;
Freeman, TP;
(2017)
Additive Effects of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and Compassionate Imagery on Self-Compassion in Recreational Users of Ecstasy.
Mindfulness
10.1007/s12671-017-0849-0.
(In press).
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Abstract
3,4-Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA;‘ecstasy’) produces prosocial subjective effects that may extend to affiliative feelings towards the self. Behavioural techniques can produce similar self-directed affiliation. For example, compassionate imagery (CI) and ecstasy reduce self-criticism and increase self-compassion to a similar extent, with the effects of CI enhanced in the presence of ecstasy. Here, we examine self-compassion and self-criticism in recreational users who consumed chemically verified MDMA in a within-subjects crossover study. In a naturalistic setting, polydrug-using participants performed a self-focused CI exercise on two occasions separated by ≥6 days: once having consumed self-sourced MDMA and once not. Effects on state self-criticism, self-compassion and emotional empathy were assessed before and after MDMA use (or over an extended baseline period on the occasion that MDMA was not consumed) and reassessed after CI. In participants (n = 20; 8 women) whose ecstasy contained MDMA and no other drug, CI and MDMA appeared to separately increase emotional empathy (to critical facial expressions) and self-compassion. The effects of CI and MDMA on self-compassion also appeared to be additive. Establishing the observed effects in controlled studies will be critical for determining the combined utility of these approaches in fostering adaptive self-attitudes in a therapeutic context.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Additive Effects of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and Compassionate Imagery on Self-Compassion in Recreational Users of Ecstasy |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s12671-017-0849-0 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0849-0 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | MDMA, Prosocial, Compassion, Self-compassion, Self-criticism, Compassionate imagery, Empathy |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10034081 |
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