تحلیل مضمون تجربه ذهن‌آگاهی ناکارآمد در افراد دارای اضطراب مزمن

هدی کیان; ارسلان مقدم‌نیا

Authors

Hoda Kian Department of General Psychology, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran Author
Arsalan Moghaddamnia Department of General Psychology, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

Keywords:

dysfunctional mindfulness, chronic anxiety, thematic analysis, semi-structured interview, lived experience, anxious self-monitoring

Abstract

This study aimed to conduct a thematic analysis of dysfunctional mindfulness experiences among individuals with chronic anxiety, focusing on how mindfulness practices may be interpreted or practiced in ways that intensify self-monitoring, physiological arousal, experiential avoidance, and perceived therapeutic failure. This qualitative study used thematic analysis. Participants were 18 adults living in Tehran who had experienced persistent anxiety symptoms for at least two years and had practiced mindfulness, meditation, mindful breathing, or mindfulness-based exercises for at least three months. Participants were recruited through purposive and theoretical sampling, and data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Data were collected exclusively through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Each interview lasted between 45 and 75 minutes, was audio-recorded with consent, and was transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using the six-phase thematic analysis framework, supported by NVivo software. Credibility was enhanced through participant review, peer debriefing, analytic memo writing, and continuous comparison of codes and themes. Five main themes were identified: “turning mindful presence into threat-oriented monitoring,” “hidden judgment under the language of acceptance,” “instrumental use of mindfulness to eliminate anxiety,” “amplified bodily focus and physiological arousal,” and “practice fatigue and perceived therapeutic failure.” Participants described that mindfulness sometimes became a rigid attempt to control thoughts, suppress anxiety, or monitor bodily sensations rather than a flexible, accepting, and nonjudgmental mode of awareness The findings suggest that dysfunctional mindfulness in individuals with chronic anxiety is not necessarily caused by mindfulness itself, but by the interaction between anxious cognition, inadequate instruction, rigid expectations, and unsupervised practice. Mindfulness training for chronically anxious individuals should therefore be gradual, clinically supervised, anxiety-sensitive, and integrated with emotion regulation, self-compassion, psychoeducation, and individualized therapeutic guidance.

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