Cited by 285Psychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMindfulness and Compassion Interventions

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Fears of compassion and happiness in relation to alexithymia, mindfulness, and self‐criticism

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Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Gibbons, L., Chotai, S., Duarte, J., Matos, M.·2012·Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice

DOI 10.1111/j.2044-8341.2011.02046.x

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Abstract

Background. There is increasing research to suggest that fears of, and resistances to, affiliative and positive emotions are linked to self‐criticism and a range of psychopathologies. It is unclear how these fears and resistances are linked to each other and how these in turn are linked to psychological processes, such as abilities to be mindful and recognize and describe emotions. Objectives. This research explores the relationship between fears of compassion and happiness in general, with capacities for emotional processing (alexithymia), capacities for mindfulness, and empathic abilities. To advance this research, a new scale was developed to measure general fears of positive feelings – the Fear of Happiness Scale. Results. The results showed that fears of compassion for self, from others and in particular fear of happiness, were highly linked to different aspects of alexithymia, mindfulness, empathy, self‐criticism and depression, anxiety and stress. Especially noteworthy was the very high correlation between fear of happiness and depression ( r = .70). Conclusion. While the development of positive emotions, especially those linked to affiliation and connectedness are increasingly seen as important therapeutic targets, little research has focused on the blocks and fears to positive emotions. This study used newly developed fears of positive affect scales (e.g., compassion and happiness) to explore these aspects and found they were significantly linked to psychopathology variables self‐criticism and difficulties such as alexithymia.

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Karagülmez, K., & Serin, N. B. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1807612
“Previous research suggests that avoidance of positive emotional experiences is linked to maladaptive regulatory processes, including discomfort with positive aﬀect and diﬃculties in emotional integration (Gilbert et al., 2012; Kashdan et al., 2006).”
ÜNİVERSİTE ÖĞRENCİLERİNDE ŞEFKAT KORKUSU, DUYGUSAL ZEKÂ VE YAŞAM DOYUMUNUN İNCELENMESİ
Yalçın, M. A., & Ateş, B. (2026) · Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi · doi:10.56677/mkuefder.1956053
How Childhood Maltreatment Shape Attitudes Toward Happiness: The Role of PTSD Symptoms and Self-Compassion
Liu, Z., Zhang, J., & Xu, S. (2026) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941261473844
Impact of 21-day gratitude writing on fear of happiness, depressive symptoms, and psychological well-being among high school students
Mucuk, M. D., Çetin, M. K., & Sarı, T. (2026) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-026-09839-3
"You inevitably blame yourself": Autistic Adults' Experiences of Self-Compassion
Hartley, G., Sirois, F. M., & Purrington, J. (2026) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-026-02934-3
The Relationship Between Fear of Happiness, Optimism-Pessimism, and Personality in University Students: A Correlational Study
Sürücü, A. (2026) · Research on Education and Psychology · doi:10.54535/rep.1975272
Psychometric properties of the Arabic Fear of Happiness Scale in a sample of Lebanese adults
Khoury, M. A. E., Malaeb, D. N., Sakr, F., Dabbous, M., Fekih‐Romdhane, F., Hallit, S. R., & Obeïd, S. (2026) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0356389
“The first one was proposed by Gilbert [19], and is a 9-item scale that assesses individuals’ beliefs and anxieties about the potential down-sides of experiencing happiness and positive emotions.”
Influential
Transformative pathways: shame and fear of compassion as potential mechanisms of change in psychotherapy
Johansen, F. T., Finsrud, I., Flo, E., & Kvamme, I. R. (2026) · Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/10503307.2026.2732028

Authors: Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Gibbons, L., Chotai, S., Duarte, J., & Matos, M.
Affiliations: University of Coimbra (PT)
Corresponding author: Gilbert, P.
ORCID: Gilbert, P.
McEwan, K.
Duarte, J.
Matos, M.
Venue: Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2011-11-08
Volume: 85
Issue: 4
Pages: 374-390
ISSN: 1476-0835 (ISSN-L)
2044-8341
DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8341.2011.02046.x
OpenAlex: W1718330303
Cited by: 285
References: 70
Citations by year: 2026: 23 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 3
FWCI: 5.94
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
hdl.handle.net
Licence: cc-by
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations: Psychology and Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
University of Derby Online Research Archive. (University of Derby) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
Funders: National Institute for Health and Care Research
Topics: Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
Keywords: fear of happiness, fear of compassion, positive emotions, alexithymia, mindfulness, self-criticism, empathy, depression, anxiety, stress, emotional processing, psychopathology
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Adult, Affective Symptoms, Depression, Empathy, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychometrics, Self-Assessment

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Fears of compassion and happiness in relation to alexithymia, mindfulness, and self‐criticism

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