Mental Health, Self Concept, Body Dissatisfaction, Compassion, Self-Perception, Mindfulness Meditation, Meditation, Psychological Well-being
Conditions
Keywords
Feeding Your Demons, Self-Deconstruction, Selflessness, Contemplative Practices, Meditation, Compassion, Body Image, Women's Mental Health, Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), mindfulness, psychological well-being
Brief summary
This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a contemplative practice called Feeding Your Demons (FYD), based on a secular adaptation of Tibetan Buddhism, in improving psychological well-being, body image, body acceptance, compassion, and self-deconstruction in adult women. Participants will be randomly assigned to either FYD or an active control group practicing mindfulness meditation. Psychological variables will be assessed before and after the intervention, and at a six-month follow-up. Additionally, a qualitative exploration will be conducted through interviews with a subgroup of participants.
Detailed description
Feeding Your Demons (FYD) is a secular contemplative practice inspired by the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, integrating elements of mindfulness, compassion, and symbolic visualization. The practice offers a guided process through which individuals face internal difficulties-referred to as demons-and transform them through acceptance and self-compassion. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of FYD compared to a mindfulness meditation intervention. It is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with two parallel groups. A total of 122 adult women will participate. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the FYD group or the control group. Both interventions will be delivered online over eight weeks. Variables assessed include psychological well-being, body image, body acceptance, mindfulness, compassion, and self-deconstruction. Assessments will be conducted before and after the intervention, and at a six-month follow-up. Statistical analyses will include intra- and intergroup comparisons using repeated measures analysis of variance. Parametric or non-parametric tests will be applied depending on the assumptions met. Relationships between variables will also be analyzed through correlations. Effect sizes will be calculated to estimate the magnitude of observed changes. The significance level will be set at p \< .05, with a 95% confidence interval. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative assessments with qualitative interviews conducted with a subgroup of participants. Although the data are collected complementarily, their analysis and dissemination may be conducted separately or integratively, depending on the specific goals of each research phase.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALFeeding your demons practice
The Feeding Your Demons (FYD) is a contemplative practice based on the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, adapted in a secular form. The intervention is online and lasts a total of 8 weeks. During this period, participants will engage in weekly home practice of the FYD method using guided audio. The intervention includes 3 expert-facilitated sessions: an initial individual session, a group session at week 4, and a final group session at week 8.
BEHAVIORALMindfulness practice
The control group will undergo an online mindfulness meditation intervention, lasting a total of 8 weeks. It includes 3 expert-facilitated sessions: an initial individual session, a group session at week 4, and a final group session at week 8. Participants will engage in weekly home practice of mindfulness meditation using guided audio.
Sponsors
Hospital Miguel Servet
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
30 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Sex assigned female at birth and self-identifies as a woman * Aged between 30 and 60 years * Spanish nationality, or residency in Spain for more than 5 years * Fluent in Spanish * At least one month of experience with meditation or mindfulness practices, with a regular practice of more than 15 minutes per session * Provides informed consent
Exclusion criteria
* Indicators of eating disorders (ED) or mental health deterioration, determined by the following cut-off points: SCOFF ≥ 2 and PHQ-9 ≥ 10 * Formal diagnosis of an eating disorder or any psychiatric condition * Substance use disorder * History of neurological disease diagnosis * Participant's decision to withdraw from the study at any point
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Delusion of Me Index (DoM) | From baseline to 6-month follow-up | The primary outcome will be the change in self-related perception from baseline to 6-month follow-up after randomisation. This includes changes in acceptance, decentering, and non-attachment. Participants will complete this measure at three time points: baseline (week 0), post-intervention (week 8), and 6-month follow-up. |
| Body Shape Questionnaire-10 (BSQ-10) | From baseline to 6-month follow-up | The second primary outcome will be the change in body image from baseline to 6-month follow-up after randomisation. This includes reductions in negative body image, specifically body dissatisfaction. Participants will complete this measure at three time points: baseline (week 0), post-intervention (week 8), and 6-month follow-up. |
| Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) | From baseline to 6-month follow-up | The second primary outcome will be the change in body image from baseline to 6-month follow-up after randomisation. This includes improvements in positive body image, specifically body appreciation. Participants will complete this measure at three time points: baseline (week 0), post-intervention (week 8), and 6-month follow-up. |
| Nondual Awareness Dimensional Assessment (NADA) | From baseline to 6-month follow-up | The primary outcome will be the change in self-related perception from baseline to 6-month follow-up after randomisation. This outcome includes changes in nondual awareness. Participants will complete this measure at three time points: baseline (week 0), post-intervention (week 8), and 6-month follow-up. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SOCS-S Sussex-Oxford Self- Compassion Scale | From baseline to 6-month follow-up | Change in Self - Compassion |
| Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). | From baseline to 6-month follow-up | Change in Mindfulness |
| Pemberton Happiness Index (PHI) | From baseline to 6-month follow-up | Change in Psychological Well- Being |
| Body Image Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (BI-AAQ-5). | From baseline to 6-month follow-up | Change in Body Acceptance |
| Sussex- Oxford Compassion Scale (SOCS - O) | From baseline to 6-month follow-up | Change in Compassion (for others) |
| Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) | From baseline to 6-month follow-up | Change in Interoceptive Awareness |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Place of Residence | At baseline | The place of residence (e.g., community or city) of participants will be recorded at baseline. |
| Prior Meditation Experience | At baseline | Participants will report whether they have prior meditation experience (yes/no) and, if applicable, the number of months or years of practice.Additionally, they will indicate the type of meditation practice previously performed (e.g., mindfulness, compassion, other). |
| Employment Status | At baseline | Employment status (e.g., employed, unemployed, student) will be collected at baseline. |
| Education Level | At baseline | Participants will report their highest completed education level at baseline. |
| Number of Meditation Session | During the 8-week intervention | Participants will indicate the sequential number of each formal meditation session completed during the 8-week intervention (e.g., Session 1, Session 2, Session 3). |
| Perceived Quality of Meditation Practice | During the 8-week intervention | After each formal meditation session, participants will rate the perceived quality of their practice on a scale from 0 (very poor) to 10 (excellent). |
| Self-reported Affective State after Practice | During the 8-week intervention | Participants will rate their affective state immediately after each formal meditation session on a scale from 0 (very negative) to 10 (very positive). |
| Qualitative phenomenological exploration | From baseline to post-intervention (8 weeks after baseline) | Semi-structured micro-phenomenological interviews will be conducted at baseline and immediately after the 8-week intervention to explore participants' lived experience related to self-perception, embodiment, and contemplative transformation. These data are exploratory and will not be included in inferential statistical analyses. |
| Participant Age | At baseline | Age of participants, measured in years. |
Countries
Spain
Contacts
Primary ContactJavier Garcia Campayo
Outcome results
None listed