Self-Compassion
Self-Compassion : extending compassion to one’s self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering.
Three components of self-compassion:
- Self-kindness: being warm and understanding toward ourselves, withholding judgement of ourselves
- Common Humanity: recognizing that suffering and personal inadequacy is part of the shared human experience
- Mindfulness: mental clarity regarding emotion and mental state
A few swirling thoughts:
- Too much empathy is detrimental to one’s wellbeing. I have an inkling that self-compassion could be the answer to hyperempathy & caregiver fatigue.
- How does self-compassion develop? If the intuition that sympathy –> empathy –> compassion is true. When and where does self-compassion come in?
- The society often talks about ‘self-care’, but we rarely mention ‘self-compassion’. It seems to me that the difference lies in doing vs thinking. Self-compassion should be the foundation of self-care. If we act compassionately to ourselves without internalizing the thought, then the effect will only be temporary.