Conceptual implications. The present study highlights the similarities between mindfulness and relaxation, and the difficulty in distinguishing these concepts. The study showed that relaxation had similar benefits as mindfulness in the reduction of depressive symptoms, but also had similar benefits in other variables considered the key elements of mindfulness, such as attention control, decentering, self-compassion, and emotion regulation. This points to the challenge inherent in selecting a suitable active comparison treatment for mindfulness research. If replicated in future research, these findings raise challenges for mindfulness research regarding the skills that have been conceptualised as uniquely associated with mindfulness and its practice. It is conceivable that the construct of mindfulness, the measures that assess it, or both, lack specificity. This is illustrated in the literature, where meditation has sometimes been conceptualised as a form of relaxation (Eppley, Xxxxxx, & Xxxxx, 1989). It is outside the scope of the current thesis to solve these questions. Nevertheless, the thesis highlights challenges in the field, thus contributing to the area of research. The study also raises questions regarding the construct of relaxation and the cognitive skills involved in its practice. Relaxation could be conceptualised as mere distraction, in so far as it takes attention away from rumination, thus reducing depressive symptoms (Xxxxx-Xxxxxxxx, 1991). However, relaxation using guided visual imagery also involves attention control and visualisation skills, and therefore it is probably more accurate to conceptualise it as a cognitive training.
