Mindfulness-to-Meaning theory and eudaimonic appraisals of positive autobiographical events

The Mindfulness-to-Meaning theory proposes that the established relationship between mindfulness and measures of wellbeing may be due to its effects on emotion regulation. More specifically, they argue that the practice of mindfulness evokes more flexible awareness and the ability to suspend our automatic thoughts, emotions, and actions in-the-moment. As such, it can help create distance between a negative emotional experience and the negative judgments and thoughts that would typically result. The issue is that no study to date has examined whether the effects of mindfulness on emotion regulation generalize to positive personal experiences. This is important because a number of clinical disorders – such as depression – are marked by a reduced ability to appraise a “happy” event as enjoyable and a loss of pleasure and meaning in everyday life. The objective of this study is to examine whether mindfulness practice can help facilitate positive appraisals of personal event. For instance, this study will examine whether mindfulness can help appraise a seemingly neutral event, such as drinking water, as pleasant or meaningful.