Self-Compassion

Dr. Kristin Neff

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Why Women Need Fierce Self-Compassion

Women need to fully embrace and integrate both tender and fierce compassion if we are ever going to free ourselves from patriarchy.

Embracing Our Common Humanity With Self-Compassion

One of the most important elements of self-compassion is the recognition of our shared humanity. Compassion is, by definition, relational. Compassion literally means “to suffer with,” which implies a basic […]

Self-Appreciation: The Flip Side of Self-Compassion

Girl sitting overlooking skyline

Sometimes it’s more difficult to see what’s right about ourselves than what’s wrong. For some of us even thinking about our positive traits makes us uncomfortable. Praise and compliments can […]

Does Self-Compassion Mean Letting Yourself Off the Hook?

Flower and sunburst

A common stumbling block when thinking about self-compassion is the belief that it just means letting ourselves off the hook. When we say “it’s only human,” isn’t this just a […]

The Physiology of Self-Compassion

Bright sunlight in sky

For the past decade or so I’ve been conducting research on self-compassion, and have found that people who are compassionate to themselves are much less likely to be depressed, anxious, […]

Why We Need to Have Compassion for Our Inner Critic

We know how much it hurts. “I’m an idiot!” “I’m disgusting.” “No one will ever love me.” “What a lame-ass.” So why do we do it? As soon as we […]

Why Caregivers Need Self-Compassion

Many of us are caregivers, whether we have a special-needs child, a parent with Alzheimer’s, an ill partner, or are in a caregiving profession such as being a nurse, therapist, […]

The Chemicals of Care: How Self-Compassion Manifests in Our Bodies

Neurons

In my work I have defined self-compassion as having three main interacting components: self-kindness, a sense of common humanity and mindfulness. Self-kindness refers to the tendency to be caring and […]

Why self-compassion is healthier than self-esteem

man in glasses

One of the most insidious consequences of the self-esteem movement over the last couple of decades is the narcissism epidemic. Self-esteem has also been linked to aggression, prejudice and anger towards those who threaten our sense of self-worth.

The Motivational Power of Self-Compassion

Running in snow - motivation

The number-one reason people give for why they aren’t more self-compassionate is the fear that they will be too easy on themselves. Without constant self-criticism to spur myself on, people […]

Self-compassion for caregivers

Tender finger and feather

Think of all the generous, kind people you know who constantly give compassion and care to others, yet continually beat themselves up. Most of us are quite practiced at being […]

Self-Compassion: Treating Yourself As You’d Treat a Good Friend

Two male friends

The golden rule tells us that we should treat others as we would want them to treat us. Maybe so, but hopefully we won’t treat them even half as badly […]

Is it self-indulgent to be self-compassionate?

man relaxing in nature

When people ask me what I do and I tell them that I study self-compassion, they often get a hesitant expression on their face. I guess self-compassion is a good […]

Why We Should Stop Chasing Self-Esteem and Start Developing Self-Compassion

Measuring tape

At the same time that we try to see ourselves as better than others, we also tend to eviscerate ourselves with self-criticism when we don’t meet our high standards. As soon as our feelings of superiority slip — as they inevitably will — our sense of worthiness takes a nose dive. We swing wildly between overly inflated and overly deflated self-esteem, an emotional roller coaster ride whose end result is often insecurity, anxiety and depression.

Let Go of Self-Criticism and Discover Self-Compassion

When our inner voice continually criticizes and berates us we end up feeling worthless, incompetent and insecure, and we often end up in negative cycles of self sabotage and self harm. However, when our inner voice plays the role of a supportive friend when we notice some personal failing, we feel safe and accepted enough to both see ourselves clearly and make needed changes.

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Kristin Neff is Co-Founder of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.