Exploring Personal Development Workshops' Effect on Well-Being and Interconnectedness.
Journal of integrative and complementary medicine January 1, 2022 Helané Wahbeh, Garret Yount, Cassandra Vieten et al. 9 citations
People who feel more interconnected with others and nature tend to report better well-being, including more positive emotions and compassion, and less pain and sleep disturbance. In a study of adults attending personal development workshops, measures of interconnectedness were positively correlated with well-being and positive affect, and negatively correlated with sleep disturbance and pain. Extended perception tasks showed no link to interconnectedness or well-being. After workshops, participants reported improved well-being, interconnectedness, positive emotion, and compassion, and reduced sleep disturbances, negative emotion, and pain. Workshop formats involving lecture, small groups, pairs, and discussion predicted well-being improvements, as did content including meditation and technology tools. Meditation was the most consistent predictor of positive well-being changes. Conscientiousness was the only individual characteristic that predicted changes, but its effects were mixed.