MINDFUL SELF-COMPASSION
Mindful self – compassion is the process of combining the skills developed through mindfulness with the emotional practice of self-compassion.
Mindfulness is the first step in emotional healing – being able to turn toward and acknowledge our difficult thoughts and feelings with openness and curiosity.
Self-compassion involves responding to these difficult thoughts feelings with kindness, sympathy and understanding so that we comfort ourselves when we are experiencing difficult thoughts and feelings.
Mindful self- awareness is the practice of repeatedly evoking good will toward ourselves especially when we are experiencing difficult thoughts and feeling.
Self-compassion involves treating yourself the way you would treat a friend who is having a hard time.
When we mindfully observe our pain, we can acknowledge our painful feeling without over-reacting, allowing us to take a wiser and more objective perspective on what is current actually happening.
Mindfulness focuses primarily on acceptance of experience itself. Self- Compassion focuses more on caring for the experiencer.
Mindfulness asks, “what am I experiencing right now?” Self-compassion asks, “what do I need right now?”
Mindfulness says, feel your painful feelings with spatial awareness. Self-compassion says be kind to yourself when you are feeling painful feelings.
Mindfulness and self-compassion both allow us to live with less resistance toward ourselves. If we can fully accept that emotions and feelings are painful and be kind to ourselves because they are painful, we can be with the pain with greater ease.
Mindful self-compassion practice increases better acceptance for negative experiences and the ability to move past difficult emotions and feelings. Individuals with a higher sense of self compassion have decreased levels of cortisol, which is created with a greater ability to gain emotional control when stressed. Self-compassion has a focus on the self and on comforting the individual when distressing situations occur. It can be a difficult balancing act when attempting to generate self-compassion to ensure you are focusing on the acceptance of the experience over reliving the painful narrative. This is where targeted mindfulness, which places an emphasis on acceptance, can support the self-compassion practice.
Self-compassion is tied to the practice of mindfulness; that is paying attention to the present moment with complete acceptance of thoughts and feelings. We cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion for it at the same time. Through self-compassion, negative emotions are accepted rather than suppressed, denied or exaggerated.