Weekly Wellness Update
Week of October 26-30 - How to Treat Yourself
Stop Being So Hard On Yourself: How Self-Compassion Is the Key to Mental Health
The good news is that there is a solution. When faced with disappointment, loss or suffering, we can treat ourselves with loving kindness and self-compassion. We can give ourselves emotional support, just as we would a close friend or family member who’s suffering. Self-compassion is not about telling ourselves that we’re better than others in some way. It’s about accepting reality: no matter how special we’d like to think we are, we’re human just like everyone else. And part of being human is that we’ll all face failure, disappointment and loss at some point.
By accepting that we’re imperfect, we can change our inner voice to one that’s supportive, self-accepting and self-compassionate. As a result, our brains will make fewer stress chemicals so that we can feel and cope better.