What is Self-Compassion? How to Improve?

If this were a friend or family member venting to you, you would offer empathy, compassion, and understanding. But most of the time, when these negative thoughts are in our own head and directed towards ourselves, we have a hard time showing ourselves the same kindness we show to others.

Self-compassion requires approaching ourselves with tolerance and compassion rather than a critical or judgmental attitude. Accepting ourselves as we are, learning from our mistakes, observing our limits and needs, and caring about our own well-being are characteristics of self-compassion. Self-compassion can have positive effects on mental health, coping with stress, relationships, and overall life satisfaction. By being more compassionate towards ourselves, we can alleviate our own internal criticism and self-evaluations. Thus, we can feel happier, balanced and satisfied.

What is Self-Compassion? 

The term “self-compassion” refers to the ability to be kind and understanding towards ourselves. It refers to approaching our own emotional needs, pain and difficulties in a tolerant and compassionate way. Self-compassion means showing compassion and acceptance towards ourselves.

Self-compassion can be developed through methods such as mindfulness practices, meditation, self-directed conversations and filling yourself with love. Additionally, therapy and personal development work can also help strengthen self-compassion.

What is Self-Compassion Deficiency?

Lack of self-compassion is a condition in which an individual has a critical, judgmental and cruel attitude towards himself. People who lack self-compassion often cannot forgive their own mistakes, feel worthless, and neglect their own needs. A lack of self-compassion can be caused by a variety of factors. For example, factors such as upbringing, childhood traumas, perfectionism standards imposed by society and the media, and growing up in an environment of constant criticism can lead to a lack of self-compassion.

A lack of self-compassion can have many negative effects. This can lead to problems such as low self-esteem, chronic stress, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, emotional eating, and self-harming tendencies. It can also increase the tendency to be overly intolerant and critical of others.

How to Address a Lack of Self-Compassion?

It’s important to recognize a lack of self-compassion and understand the effects it has on you. Observe how you behave and think towards yourself. Some steps can be taken to deal with a lack of self-compassion. Among them:

• Develop awareness
• accept yourself
• Making gentle self-talk
• self care
• seek support

Working on a lack of self-compassion can help you feel more loving, accepting, and at peace. This process may take time, but you can move forward by starting small.

How to Develop Self-Compassion?

People with high levels of self-compassion exhibit these three behaviors:

• They are not judgmental about their own failures and mistakes.
• They recognize that failures are not about one person but a common human experience.
• They have a balanced approach to negative emotions when they stumble or feel inadequate. They allow themselves to feel bad and experience their sadness, but they do not allow negative emotions to take control.

Developing self-compassion is activities done to strengthen feelings of love, acceptance, understanding and kindness towards yourself. These activities allow you to have positive effects on mental health, coping with stress, relationships and overall life satisfaction. Activities that stand out in developing Self-Compassion are as follows:

• Develop awareness:The first step to self-compassion is to raise awareness. Notice your critical thoughts and negative emotions towards yourself. Try to understand where these thoughts come from and how they affect you.
• Accept yourself:Try to accept yourself as you are. Lower expectations of perfectionism and view your mistakes as a learning opportunity. Remember that you are human and your shortcomings are normal.
• Pay Attention to Your Body and Health:Take care to take good care of yourself. Don’t ignore your needs and make time for activities that nourish yourself. Focus on things that make you feel good, such as exercising and engaging in hobbies. Eat healthy, take time for yourself when you are tired. Go for a walk, do activities that can relax your body. Everything you do to take care of yourself physically will also allow your sense of self-compassion to develop.
• Notice your own inner voice:Notice your own inner voice and observe how you speak. If you have a critical and judgmental inner voice, make an effort to change it. Start speaking to yourself in a kind, understanding, and supportive way.
• Be well-intentioned towards yourself:Develop a well-intentioned attitude towards yourself. Be kind to yourself as you are kind to others. Remember that you love yourself, care about yourself, and are valuable.
• Be Kind to Yourself:You should stop condemning and criticizing yourself when you make mistakes. Judging yourself and making derogatory comments about yourself causes tension and anxiety and will only harm you. Self-compassion means accepting that there are times when everyone can fail and being kind to yourself in such times. Thus, by gaining a sense of calm and confidence, you will be motivated to create better opportunities in your life.
• Practice self-care: Self-care practices can be an effective way to strengthen self-compassion. These include practices such as mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises, journal writing, remembering good memories, and rewarding yourself with the things you love.
• Write Your Feelings:When all the events we experience and all the emotions we feel are explained and shared, we understand what kind of place they have in us, and one of the easiest and most effective ways to express them is to write. You can write a letter to yourself. Think of a situation that caused you sadness. (such as losing your job, breaking up with your lover, losing a loved one) Write a letter to yourself explaining this sad situation, but do not blame anyone, including yourself, while doing this.
• Set your limits:It is important to determine your own limits and needs. Prioritize your own needs over the expectations of others. Learn to say no and keep yourself away from damaging relationships.
• Seek professional support:It is important to get support in the process of developing self-compassion. Working with a therapist or counselor can guide you and offer appropriate methods to strengthen self-compassion.

Developing self-compassion can take time, but when you practice it regularly, you can make noticeable progress. Be patient with yourself and make a constant effort to love yourself.

What is Self-Compassion? How to Improve?

What is Self-Compassion? How to Improve?  We tried to provide you with short and concise information regarding the question. As we have stated, self-compassion briefly refers to approaching our own emotional needs, pain and difficulties in a tolerant and compassionate manner. It is very important to get support from an expert in the process of developing self-compassion. You can share your thoughts or questions about self-compassion with us in the comments section.