What is Self-Compassion?
Self-Compassion involves treating yourself with kindness and acceptance in situations of failure or suffering and realizing that this is part of a shared human experience. This means that we all make mistakes, we fail sometimes, and for this we suffer.
But suffering doesn’t have to be so harsh. We can do things to alleviate the pain caused by difficult emotions. We can learn how to comfort ourselves instead of reacting with anger, dislike or pity. Learning to be compassionate with ourselves can help us do this.
Read more about anger management.
Practicing self-compassion has many positive health benefits such as being more self-aware, better able to cope with stress, and managing interpersonal relationships.
How to Practice Self-Compassion
Kristen Neff, a psychologist and self-compassion researcher suggests some specific ways to practice self-compassion:
Be kind and treat yourself as you would your friend
We are often harder on ourselves than we are on other people. In situations where you might criticize yourself, stop and think if you would say this to your friend. If not, then don’t say it to yourself either, instead speak to yourself kindly, in an affectionate and encouraging way.
Comfort yourself with a physical gesture
Hold your hand or place your hand on your heart as you engage in being kind to yourself. These physical gestures are a simple self-soothing technique that helps release natural soothing hormones and calm the system.
Memorize compassionate phrases
Use some phrases to respond at times when you are feeling down and self-critical. Having go-to thoughts is a simple way to remind yourself to be compassionate towards yourself. “Nobody is perfect” “May I be kind to myself instead of critical?” “This is hard for me”
Meditate
Regular practice of meditation allows us to strengthen our brains, better manage our emotions and be mindful of our passing thoughts and feelings. Learn more about how to introduce mindfulness meditation into your life.
Begin Your Self-Love Journey With Mindful Self-Compassion With Our 8-Week Program
Ready to form a new, more positive relationship with yourself and see how much your life improves? Our Virtual 8-Week Mindful Self-Compassion Program is designed to hand-deliver the tools you need to transform your life, your relationships, and yourself into a more peaceful, self-assured place.
The 8-week MSC program offered by CBT Psychology consists of one Zoom meeting per week, followed by a retreat to practice everything that you learned. The dates of this program are to be determined. Get on the waitlist now and be the first to know of any new updates.
Click the button below to learn more about how you can become less self-critical and kinder to yourself and others in just 8-weeks.
More Resources to Explore
MBCT
Mindfulness Meditation Resources
For those interested in learning more about self-compassion and how to cultivate it, these are three books by the top researchers and teachers on the topic:
- Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff
- The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion by Christopher Germer
- Mindful Compassion by Paul Gilbert, Ph.D. and Choden
