Seeing Yourself; Accepting Yourself; and Treating Yourself Well
Self-Compassion The month of February is over. However, its theme of love is worthy of celebrating year round. Healthy love begins with the self and then extends to others. Let's embrace attitudes and treatment toward ourselves in a compassionate way that is consistent with loving ourselves in a healthy way. Research demonstrates that healthy self-compassion is correlated with improved psychological well-being, lower depression, decreased anxiety, and increased happiness and greater life satisfaction. The psychological term, self-compassion is defined as unconditional love and self-acceptance. Here is what it looks like in practice: Being kind toward oneself vs. Being harsh and punitive toward oneself Example: Allowing oneself opportunities to relax and have fun Versus Berating oneself for taking a break or focusing on what one "should" be doing, instead Being caring and empathetic vs. Seeing oneself as deficient or defective Example: When on