Mindfulness + Equanimity = Stronger Resilience

Many students at Harvard practicing mindfulness often raise a question: are mindfulness and equanimity the same thing? Today, let's answer this question through a high-quality article in the field, Moving beyond Mindfulness: Defining Equanimity as an Outcome Measure in Meditation and Contemplative Research by Desbordes (2014).

In general, researchers believe that mindfulness and equanimity are like perfect partners—mindfulness helps you focus on your thoughts and feelings, while equanimity helps you maintain calmness and balance, no matter what emotions arise. Combined, the two can help you better cope with stress, live in the present moment, and even train your brain over time to respond more calmly.

Have you ever felt like your emotions were out of control or even a bit too extreme?Mindfulness can help you become aware of your emotions. Mindfulness is primarily defined as the ability to be aware of what is happening in the present moment, including sensory, emotional, and cognitive experiences. It involves focusing your attention on a specific object, whether external (sensory stimuli) or internal (thoughts, feelings, memories), without distractions or forgetfulness. This aspect of mindfulness is about being aware of your experiences.

So, what exactly is equanimity, and how does it help us feel and respond to emotions?

In Buddhist tradition, equanimity is a mental state of calmness cultivated through meditation, involving an attitude of fairness toward all living beings and recognizing that everyone seeks happiness and wishes to be free from suffering. Equanimity is closely related to compassion and sympathy. One way of practicing equanimity in Buddhism is by considering friends, enemies, and strangers during meditation to cultivate an unbiased attitude. In other words, it refers to a balanced mental state or a tendency to face all experiences—whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral—without attachment or resistance. It is an attitude of impartiality that allows people to observe their experiences without being swayed by biases, preferences, or emotional fluctuations. It involves fairness and the ability to experience thoughts and emotions without aversion, judgment, or the desire to prolong them.

Neuroimaging research has revealed brain mechanisms related to equanimity, especially brain activity during emotional challenges and how the brains of experienced meditators respond. These studies suggest that equanimity is linked to changes in brain regions associated with emotional processing, attention, and self-referential thinking.

Amygdala Regulation:

The amygdala is a key brain area responsible for perceiving and evaluating emotional stimuli. Research shows that experienced meditators (presumably with higher levels of equanimity) show lower amygdala activation when exposed to emotional images, compared to non-meditators. This suggests that equanimity may involve a reduced response to emotional stimuli.In novice meditators, after eight weeks of meditation training, amygdala activation in response to emotionally charged stimuli was reduced long-term, even in non-meditative states, indicating that meditation practice can alter emotional processing in daily life.For individuals with social anxiety disorder, after completing an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, amygdala activation decreased when comparing mindful breathing awareness with negative self-belief responses, and negative emotional experiences were also alleviated.Unlike typical emotion regulation strategies (which often show a negative correlation between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala activity), mindfulness training seems to correlate with a positive correlation between amygdala and prefrontal cortex activation, suggesting that the prefrontal cortex might be monitoring the state of activation rather than actively suppressing it.A slower amygdala recovery is also linked to higher neuroticism traits, which are characterized by poorer emotional regulation abilities.

Prefrontal Cortex (PFC):

While some emotion regulation strategies rely on the prefrontal cortex to downregulate amygdala responses, experienced meditators tend to perceive emotional stimuli less intensely without needing to increase activity in the prefrontal cortex.Studies show that after meditation training, the functional connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex changes. This suggests that equanimity may not rely on the active suppression of emotional responses via the prefrontal cortex, but rather on a more balanced approach to emotional processing.In mindfulness practitioners, changes in the α-wave asymmetry in the prefrontal cortex have been observed.

Default Mode Network (DMN):

The DMN is related to self-referential thinking and flow states. Studies have shown that experienced meditators exhibit lower DMN activation than control groups. This might relate to reduced self-referential thinking associated with equanimity.The deactivation of the DMN's core region—the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)—is associated with subjective experiences of "effortlessness" and "satisfaction," which are consistent with descriptions of equanimity. This suggests that equanimity may be related to a reduction in self-referential processing.Increased connectivity between the mid-cingulate cortex (MCC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is related to mindfulness training, indicating that equanimity may involve changes in the interactions between the DMN and other brain networks.Evidence suggests that mindfulness might reduce the phenomenon of "experiential fusion" (the tendency to identify with thoughts and emotions) by inhibiting the DMN.Mindfulness training might reduce connectivity within the DMN or interfere with its coordination with the salience network (SN), thereby reducing rumination, suggesting that it may reduce the tendency to ruminate through these neural mechanisms.

Salience Network (SN):

The SN is involved in detecting emotionally significant stimuli. Mindfulness training has been shown to enhance the functional connectivity between the SN and DMN. This suggests that equanimity involves more balanced and adaptive interactions between brain networks related to awareness, self-referential thinking, and attention monitoring.

A key node of the SN—the mid-cingulate cortex (MCC)—has been found to show enhanced connectivity with the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) after mindfulness training. The MCC is thought to be involved in integrating information across networks due to its long-distance signaling properties.Mindfulness training might promote top-down cognitive control by enhancing the connectivity of the MCC, rather than through prefrontal control networks, allowing cognitive control to be maintained over longer periods.

Meditation practitioners show reduced neural responses related to conceptual processing, indicating a lower reactivity to stimuli. Experienced meditators exhibit more correlated activity between the brain's attention network and task timing processes. Studies show that experienced meditators (with higher levels of equanimity) exhibit lower activation in brain regions associated with evaluation and regulation, but higher activation in sensory regions when exposed to emotional stimuli.

These neuroimaging studies suggest that equanimity is not about suppressing emotions but about changing how the brain processes and reacts to them. Changes in the activity and connectivity of the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, DMN, and SN point to more balanced and adaptive interactions between brain networks related to emotional processing, attention, and self-referential thinking. Additionally, neuroimaging studies indicate that equanimity is likely a gradually developed skill, with expert meditators exhibiting different neural activation patterns than beginners. Beginners often show increased cognitive control and regulation patterns, while experts exhibit reduced reactivity and more balanced responses to emotional stimuli.So, equanimity is the superpower that helps you feel your emotions without letting them control you.

Equanimity is not about not feeling emotions; it is about feeling them and staying calm. Whether it’s joy, frustration, or sadness, equanimity allows you to experience them without being overwhelmed by them. It’s like watching a storm from a safe, warm shelter—you can see it and feel its presence, but you won’t be swept away by it.Research shows that people who practice equanimity like experienced meditators show more balanced brain activity when facing emotions. They are less likely to be overwhelmed by emotions, and their brain responses are calmer and more adaptable.The coolest part is that equanimity isn’t just about "doing nothing" when emotions arise. It’s about how we respond to emotions. For example, when you practice mindfulness, you notice the emotions arising, and with equanimity, you allow those emotions to flow freely without being carried away by them. It’s about accepting the ups and downs of life with a calm mindset, without being swayed by them.

Mindfulness emphasizes awareness of the domain of experience, while equanimity emphasizes the attitude with which we approach that experience. Mindfulness is about observation, while equanimity is about how we relate to what we observe, including not being carried away by positive experiences or having aversion to negative ones.

Without mindfulness, one may not realize how emotions affect behavior and mood, potentially leading to maladaptive responses. Through mindfulness, one can become aware of the shifts in emotions. With equanimity, one can observe the unfolding of emotions without being overwhelmed or needing to react to them.

Equanimity is not the same as indifference because it involves caring and concern, not coldness. It does not mean suppressing emotions but not becoming emotionally entangled with them. Indifference is considered an "unhealthy" mental state, while equanimity represents a balanced and impartial attitude toward experience.

From a Buddhist perspective, equanimity also involves not desiring or becoming attached to pleasurable experiences, nor trying to avoid or suppress unpleasant experiences, as these tendencies are seen as the root of suffering.

Although mindfulness and equanimity are different, they are interdependent skills that often develop together. Mindfulness is a foundational skill for developing equanimity. Mindfulness enables one to become aware of experiences, while equanimity allows one to approach these experiences with a peaceful and accepting attitude.

Both mindfulness and equanimity can be cultivated through meditation and other contemplative practices. Through practice, equanimity ultimately becomes a natural trait that no longer requires deliberate invocation.

Mindfulness cultivation is considered the foundation for developing equanimity. Beginners might find that they often have mindfulness but lack equanimity, which can be frustrating as they become aware of disruptive thought patterns but lack the ability to let them pass without reacting. It is important to see these as different skills that develop at different rates.

In fact, mindfulness includes an "open and accepting attitude," which is similar to the concept of equanimity in Buddhism. The non-judgmental nature of mindfulness is similar to the impartiality of equanimity, allowing one to observe without needing to assess or change the experience. In equanimity, one can "gaze" at an experience without needing to change it into something else.

The author of this article also points out that, just like mindfulness, the concept of equanimity is not only present in Buddhism but also widely studied in modern psychology. Although both use different frameworks and terms, they recognize the importance of a calm mindset (or related concepts) in promoting mental health and adaptive emotional responses. Buddhism places equanimity at the core of spiritual practice, while Western psychology integrates it into therapeutic methods and studies the neural and physiological mechanisms involved.

In modern psychology, equanimity is related to a shift in an "observational attitude," which enhances objectivity toward one's internal experience and allows individuals to detach from their thoughts. This process is related to concepts such as self-distancing, decentering, cognitive detachment, and metacognitive insight.Specifically, psychoanalysis emphasizes approaching emotions with a calm attitude. For example, therapists maintain "freely floating attention" and accept all emotions expressed by the patient without judgment. Western psychology sees "experiential avoidance" (avoiding or suppressing emotions) as harmful and associated with psychological disorders, which aligns with the Buddhist view of not suppressing emotions and accepting all experiences. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) are therapeutic methods that adopt non-judgmental, non-attached, and accepting attitudes, inspired by Buddhist teachings, to help patients change their relationship with inner experiences.

In modern psychology, a calm mindset is linked to cognitive flexibility, meaning the ability to adapt effectively to new and unexpected situations without falling into old thinking patterns. Just as Buddhism encourages detachment in the face of emotions, modern psychology also encourages "decentering" or "metacognitive insight," which helps individuals observe their thoughts and emotions without closely identifying with them. Meanwhile, modern psychology views equanimity as an emotional regulation strategy that changes the intensity and quality of emotional responses. Unlike strategies that involve effortful control or reappraisal, the calm mindset encourages people to view emotions as transient events rather than accurate reflections of reality. Psychology uses various tools—such as measuring heart rate variability (HRV), stress hormones, and brain activity (especially in the amygdala and DMN)—to measure emotions and their regulation. These techniques have also been proposed as objective standards for measuring a calm mindset.