Seeing Yourself; Accepting Yourself; and Treating Yourself Well

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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 one experiences a setback or failure, validating one's painful emotions
Versus
Putting oneself down or beating oneself up for feeling badly

Being accepting of oneself   vs.   Being rejecting and critical toward  oneself
Example: Realizing that one's imperfections are part of being human
Versus
Labeling oneself as "stupid", "a loser", or feeling unworthy of compassion

Acknowledging shortcomings or pain vs.  Ignoring or denying our pain
Ex.: Acknowledging our mistakes and seeking to improve or get help with our pain
Versus
Engaging in some form of avoidance and refusal to address painful issues 

For further information about the concept of self-compassion, as created by
Dr. Kristin Neff, visit
https://self-compassion.org/

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