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25.01.2022 The Inaugural Australian Compassion Research Forum This online forum will examine compassion research as a rapidly emerging field of science with significant implications for improving our collective human wellbeing. Around Australia there are outstanding academics and university centres that specialise in compassion research and its application, and have recently been brought together in the Australian Compassion Council (ACC) Scholars Network.... Register for this FREE event here - https://charterforcompassion.com.au/comp_forum/

25.01.2022 Your Happiness Calendar for November 2020 Each month, the Greater Good Science Center publish a Happiness Calendar. Check it out and subscribe to get a new one each month! https://tinyurl.com/yy22alrp... #happiness

24.01.2022 #podcast Your Parenting Mojo Ep. 122 Self-Compassion for Parents "In this episode, Dr. Susan Pollak helps us to apply mindfulness skills to our relationships with our children so we can parent in line with our values, rather than just reacting when our children push our buttons.... You’ll learn: What’s the point of mindfulness, and does it matter if we bring our full attention and presence to diaper changes? Why we’re so hard on ourselves, even when we always try to be kind to others Some concrete tools to use when you interact with your children TODAY in those moments when it seems like everything is falling apart." Take a listen to the wonderful, hour long, podcast full of science and compassion for parents here - https://tinyurl.com/y6anoogh #selfcompassion #parenting

24.01.2022 Tips for Taking Care of Yourself this Christmas "Sometimes no matter how hard we work to create a Christmas free of stress and conflict, the pressure and tension can get the better of us. If you’ve lost someone you love or had a relationship end, Christmas can be a sad and lonely time, and a time of reflecting. If you’re experiencing symptoms of mental illness, this time of year can be particularly unsettling and triggering. All sorts of painful and uncomfortable feelings can... be brought to the surface, especially when there are complicated family dynamics involved. Finding ways to take care of yourself is always important, but particularly so around this time of year. By coming up with a concrete plan you’re taking a preventative approach to looking after yourself. We’ve come up with a few ideas below to get you started..." This thoughtful blog from Inner Melbourne Clinical Psychology is full of tips and strategies to give yourself the gift of self-compassion this Christmas. Check it out here - https://tinyurl.com/y5ase8wn

23.01.2022 The mindful mundane This article from Breathe Magazine gives step by step instructions on how to take a Mindful Self-Compassion approach to routine tasks and chores...Willing to give it a try? "The benefits of mindfulness are plentiful, yet sometimes the advice on how to live a more reflective life in a busy world can seem contradictory, with gurus offering enlightenment through complex and lengthy routines and exercises. The truth is that you can reach a state of gentle medi...tation without the need for prolonged spells of sitting still while the daily to-do list screams for your attention. Those must-do chores won’t go away, so why not combine them with a healthy dose of mindfulness and experience the best of both worlds?" Check it out here - https://tinyurl.com/y3cbcvul #mindful #selfcompassion

23.01.2022 The Compassionate Kit Bag The below video has Kate Lucre explaining the use of her creative "Compassionate Kit Bag" - a kit bag that you take with you, full of everything you need to nourish you, on your compassion journey. Kate has recently published an article in Psychology and Psychotherapy about this approach which can be accessed here - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/papt.12291... The video can be viewed here - https://tinyurl.com/yy7fy7po #compassionatekitbag #creative #CFT

23.01.2022 The Self in Empathy: Self-Empathy "We’re not talking about feeling sorry for yourself or bringing love to your own experiences. Self-empathy is not the same as self-compassion. Self-compassion involves treating yourself with the same kindness, concern, and support you’d show to a good friend (Neff & Dahm, 2015). Self-empathy means that an aspect of yourself observes, in an empathic manner, the aspect of yourself that experiences. This is done with an attitude of suspended jud...gment and openness towards yourself (Jordan, 1994). Self-empathy simply requires you to notice and recognise what is happening in you. Attentive self-empathy provides both affective and cognitive empathic access to your own lifeworld. It provides an opportunity for you to integrate aspects of your current and past experiences and doesn’t necessarily require reinvention or radical conversion of those experiences (Sherman, 2014)..." Read the full blog post from Psychology Today here - https://tinyurl.com/y5teushl

21.01.2022 Four Reasons Why Compassion Is Better For Humanity Than Empathy "Empathy is an important, foundational emotion for human connection. It is the spark that can ignite compassion. But on its own, without compassion, empathy is a danger for leaders. As controversial as this may sound, the reasoning is simple: Empathy is the brain’s wired tendency to identify with those who are close to us close in proximity, close in familiarity, or close in kinship. And when we empathize with ...those close to us, those who are not close or are different seem threatening. When unchecked, empathy can create more division than unity. Empathy and compassion are very different. They are represented in different areas of the brain. With empathy, we join the suffering of others who suffer, but stop short of actually helping. With compassion, we take a step away from the emotion of empathy and ask ourselves ‘how can we help?’. For leaders, recognizing the differences between empathy and compassion is critical for inspiring and managing others effectively. Remember these four main points in responding to your people with compassion instead of empathy...." Read the full article here - https://tinyurl.com/y2983nv4 #compassion #empathy #leadership

20.01.2022 Healthcare providers perspectives on compassion training: a grounded theory study "Abstract Background: There is little concrete guidance on how to train current and future healthcare providers (HCPs) in the core competency of compassion. This study was undertaken using Straussian grounded theory to address the question: What are healthcare providers’ perspectives on training current and future HCPs in compassion?... Methods: Fifty-seven HCPs working in palliative care participated in this study, beginning with focus groups with frontline HCPs (n = 35), followed by one-on-one interviews with HCPs who were considered by their peers to be skilled in providing compassion (n = 15, three of whom also participated in the initial focus groups), and end of study focus groups with study participants (n = 5) and knowledge users (n = 10). Results: Study participants largely agreed that compassionate behaviours can be taught, and these behaviours are distinct from the emotional response of compassion. They noted that while learners can develop greater compassion through training, their ability to do so varies depending on the innate qualities they possess prior to training. Participants identified three facets of an effective compassion training program: self-awareness, experiential learning and effective and affective communication skills. Participants also noted that healthcare faculties, facilities and organizations play an important role in creating compassionate practice settings and sustaining HCPs in their delivery of compassion. Conclusions: Providing compassion has become a core expectation of healthcare and a hallmark of quality palliative care. This study provides guidance on the importance, core components and teaching methods of compassion training from the perspectives of those who aim to provide itHealthcare Providersserving as a foundation for future evidence based educational interventions." Read the full article from BMC Medical Education here - https://tinyurl.com/y39t4qpg #compassion #training #healthcare

20.01.2022 How To Practice Self-Compassion In Trying Times "Practicing self-compassion is not about letting ourselves off the hook or making excuses. People who are self-compassionate still set high goals for themselves but they aren’t as rattled if they fall short of these goals, as they are more likely to adopt a growth mindset and learn from their failure or difficulty. Moreover, they continue to set high goals for themselves after a set-back. Self-compassion also doesn’t make our ...suffering automatically go away, but it allows us to deal with our negative thoughts and feelings more directly and in a caring way. It creates the space for them to run their natural course, so we can restore our sense of equilibrium and build our resilience so we can weather the next storm that passes through." Read the full article from Forbes here - https://tinyurl.com/y24zdgy2 #selfcompassion

20.01.2022 How parents can practice self-compassion during COVID-19 Parenting is hard ta the best of times, but if you are in lockdown with your little ones, or even back to normal but facing ongoing financial, health or future focused worry and stress, self-compassion can help. A discussion paper published in Behavior Analysis in Practice outlines some tips for parents managing life during COVID-19 - https://tinyurl.com/y4pee788... for those short on time, bsci21.org has condensed the paper into a short blog listing the recommendations here - https://tinyurl.com/y4secego If you have any extra tips for parenting in a pandemic, feel free to share them below! #COVID19 #selfcompassion #parenting

19.01.2022 #research Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) on Self-Esteem and Resilience in Children and Adolescents with Divorced Parents "ABSTRACT: Background and Purpose: Parental divorce represents one of the most stressful events for children and adolescents and it has short-term and long-term economic, social, affective and emotional effects on them. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on fostering the self-esteem and resilie...nce in children and adolescents with Divorced parents. Method: This research was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest control group and two month follow-up design. The study population included twenty three 10-13-year-old male children and adolescents with divorced parents in Karaj in 2017. After screening with Self-Esteem Scale (Pepper, 1999) and Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale (2003), 20 of these students were selected by convenience sampling and then randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The experimental group received eight 90-min weekly sessions of compassion-focused therapy (Gilbert, 2009), while the control group underwent no intervention. Data were analyzed by repeated measure ANOVA. Results: Findings showed significant difference between the experimental and the control group in terms of self-esteem (F=5.67, p<0.02) and resilience (F=12.68, p=0.001) at the pretest, posttest and two-month follow-up stages. Conclusion: Whereas self-esteem and resilience have widespread effects on the quality of interpersonal relations, education, and adjustment of children and adolescents with divorced parents, based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the compassion-focused therapy increases the self-esteem and resilience of these children by modifying and increasing their interpersonal interactions." Read the full article, published in the Quarterly Journal of Child Mental Health (2020), here - https://tinyurl.com/yyrmuxrd #compassion #children #stress

19.01.2022 Finding confidence and inner trust as a parent: experiences of group-based compassion-focused therapy for the parents of adolescents with mental health problems "ABSTRACT Purpose: Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) can alleviate the stress and challenges faced by the parents of adolescents with mental health (MH) problems. Although CFT interventions have shown promising results, few studies have examined its effectiveness in adolescent psychiatric settings. Therefore, this stud...y examined the participant experiences of group-based CFT for the parents of adolescents with MH problems. Methods: The reflective lifeworld research (RLR) approach was used to conduct in-depth interviews with eleven parents, focusing on participant experiences of group-based CFT. Meaning-oriented data analysis was undertaken. Results: The essential meaning of the phenomenon of participating in group-based CFT was understood as finding confidence and inner trust as a parent, characterized by an understanding of one’s own needs, which provided parents with the confidence to support their children. The phenomenon is further explicated with its three constituents: (a) taking care of oneself and one’s child; (b) being open and sharing experiences; and (c) acceptance and hope for the future. Conclusions: The CFT intervention enabled parents to find their agency and strengthened their relationships with their children. The findings underscore the need to acknowledge the supportive role parents play in the recovery of children who receive psychiatric care." Read the full article, published in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, here - https://tinyurl.com/yy5fspas #research #CFT #group #parenting

18.01.2022 BLOG: Staying Connected in a Virtual World "Dr Andrew Medley, Chartered Clinical Psychologist has written this BLOG looking at the realities of dealing with Covid-19. Psychological wellbeing is really all about connection. The bonds with family and friends, teamwork with colleagues, linking up with our interests and passions, and indeed self-awareness of our own patterns of thinking, feeling and reacting. The Covid-19 crisis has challenged all of these foundations of emotio...nal resilience. The prolonged uncertainty, abrupt and disorientating changes to work environments, and isolation from the people and routines that usually give us a sense of security. More than that, for health and emergency service professionals there has been a kind of doubling of the trauma: the challenge of confronting the same personal risks and fears as everyone else, whilst also rising to the responsibility of helping others and keeping them safe. Heroes maybe but human beings too, so it’s worth a closer look at the vulnerabilities we all share and some simple strategies to help offset stresses like none before..." Read the full blog here - https://tinyurl.com/yy5u2rrk #connection #COVID19 #compassion

17.01.2022 #Research Integrating CBT and CFT within a case formulation approach to reduce depression and anxiety in an older adult with a complex mental and physical health history: a single case study "Abstract Depression and anxiety are major contributors to growing healthcare costs in the UK, particularly with an increasingly ageing population. However, identification of mental health needs in older adults has been overshadowed by a tendency to focus on physical health issues, despit...e the established co-morbidity of depression, anxiety and physical health conditions. When older adults seek psychological support, treatment options may vary and may be time limited, either because of protocol guidance or due to the resource constraints of psychology services. Time-limited treatment, common in many adult services, may not best meet the needs of older adults, whose physical, cognitive and emotional needs alter with age. It is, therefore, important to identify treatments that best meet the needs of older adults who seek psychological support, but who may arrive with complex mental and physical health histories. This paper aims to explore how a case formulation-driven approach that draws on the theoretical underpinnings of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and compassion-focused therapy (CFT) can be used to reduce anxiety and depression in an older adult with a complex multi-morbid mental and physical health history. This study employs a single-case (AB) experimental design [assessment (A), CBT and CFT intervention (B)] over 28 sessions. Results suggest the greatest reductions in depression and anxiety (as measured using PHQ-9 and GAD-7) occurred during the CFT phase of the intervention, although scores failed to drop below subclinical levels in any phase of the intervention. This case highlights the value of incorporating CFT with CBT in case formulation driven interventions." Read the full research article, published in The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist (2020) here - https://tinyurl.com/y4lt6tp6 #CFT #CBT #casestudy #compassion

15.01.2022 #research Self-Compassion Buffers the Adverse Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19-Related Threats: Results From a Cross-Sectional Survey at the First Peak of Hong Kong's Outbreak "ABSTRACT: COVID-19 has brought tremendous and abrupt threats to various aspects of our daily lives, from school and work to interpersonal relationships. Self-compassion is put forth as a salutogenic perspective on oneself that buffers the adverse mental health impacts of these threats. During the peak... of a local outbreak in Hong Kong in Spring 2020, 761 participants completed questionnaires on self-compassion, perceived threats, as well as perceived benefits and psychological distress. Controlling for demographic variables, negative indicators of self-compassion (aka self-coldness) was found to intensify the impacts of threats on psychological distress. The positive indicators of self-compassion also moderated the link between threats and perceived benefits, such that perceived benefits tend to be less related to threats in participants with higher self-compassion. Our findings highlight the impacts of both positive and negative indicators of self-compassion on the adjustment to such unprecedented challenges, and point to the possibility of enhancing people's resilience through fostering self-compassion and alleviating self-coldness." Read the full article, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry (2020), here - https://tinyurl.com/y5zmw5y5 #COVID19 #selfcompassion #resilience

12.01.2022 Understanding the Relation Between Self-Compassion and Suicide Risk Among Adolescents in a Post-disaster Context: Mediating Roles of Gratitude and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder "Abstract Background: The suicide risk among adolescents post-earthquake remains an important issue in trauma psychology. While existing studies and theories suggest that factors such as self-compassion, gratitude, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) play roles in the risk of suicide, few studies ...have combined these factors to explore the relationship between them. Objective: This study examined the mediating roles of gratitude and PTSD in the relationship between self-compassion and suicide risk among Chinese adolescents after the Ya’an earthquake. Methods: Four and a half years after the Ya’an earthquake, 499 middle school students in Lushan County were assessed using the following systems: Measures of Self-Compassion Scale, Gratitude Questionnaire, PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, and Child Behavior Problems Questionnaire. Results: When we controlled for gender, age, and traumatic exposure, in the direct effect model, positive self-compassion had a negative effect on suicide risk, and negative self-compassion had a positive effect on suicide risk. In the indirect effects model, both positive self-compassion and negative self-compassion had no significant direct effect on suicide risk. Moreover, we found an indirect and negative effect of positive self-compassion on suicide risk via gratitude and PTSD, as well as via an indirect path from gratitude to PTSD. On the other hand, we also found an indirect and positive effect of negative self-compassion on suicide risk via gratitude and PTSD, as well as via an indirect path from gratitude to PTSD. Conclusion: Positive self-compassion reduces the risk of suicide, while negative self-compassion increases the risk of suicide. Gratitude and PTSD play significant mediating role between self-compassion and suicide risk." Download the full article, published in Frontiers in Psycholog, here - https://tinyurl.com/y6o5nm6q

10.01.2022 Creating Your Ideal Compassionate Other Stan Steindl provides an overview of and takes us through an exercise for creating the ideal compassionate other. For those so inclined, he also provides a supportive worksheet. Check it out and let us know how you go! Check out the video here - https://tinyurl.com/y67k2uzt... #compassion

09.01.2022 This is No Time to Beat Yourself Up: How to Build Self-Compassion "Building more self-compassion comes first from making a few acknowledgments that shift your attitude: Mistakes are commonplace; your behavior came from people you had no choice about; perfection is a never-ending, unobtainable grind. The more doable goal is, as Neff says, to be a compassionate mess. Of course, understanding this is one thing. It’s much harder in practice. So, how do you prevent that voice ...in your head from chewing you out when you make a few mistakes?" Check out the full blog from Fatherly here - https://tinyurl.com/yyvp87y7

09.01.2022 #research Exploring Differences in Person Features of Participants with High and Low Growth in Self-Compassion Practicing a Positive Psychology Intervention "Abstract Background: Research has started to use self-compassion exercises across Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) in order to counteract shame and self-criticism while fostering well-being. However, it was not yet discovered who might benefit most from these exercises. Therefore, the aim of this study was to ex...plore possible differences between people with different levels of growth in self-compassion during a PPI. It was examined whether participants with higher growth in self-compassion revealed different person characteristics (socio-demographics and personality), as well as intervention interaction (satisfaction and engagement) than participants with less growth in self-compassion. Method: The study included 122 participants, who were selected from the intervention group of an email-guided multicomponent PPI. The sample was divided into participants with the lowest growth in self-compassion and highest growth in self-compassion. Participants were compared across various socio-demographics and personality traits, measured by the NEO-FFI and EPQ-RSS, and across the interaction with the intervention, assessed by the CSQ-8 and self-reported measures of engagement. Comparison analyses between the groups were conducted using 2 - tests and independent t-test. Results: Participants did not reveal significant differences across the majority of socio-demographics and personality. However, significantly more participants with higher growth in self-compassion did not live alone, 2 (1) = 5.23, p = 0.022, compared to participants with less self-compassion growth. Additionally, participants with higher growth in self-compassion were significantly more engaged and satisfied with the PPI, t (80) = -3.1, p = .003. Conclusion: While the study was not able to outline many differences in person characteristics across the participants, it was able to highlight the potentials of self-compassion exercises across PPIs. With more research, self-compassion exercises could be used in order to tailor PPIs e.g. for participants living alone or to heighten user satisfaction." Read the full Masters thesis here - https://tinyurl.com/y4j2vqas #selfcompassion #positive

09.01.2022 10 things I Didn’t Know About Online Self-Compassion Training Considering an online training in compassion based practice or therapy? Kristy Arbon shares her thoughts on engaging in compassion training online. "When I started teaching self-compassion programs online six years ago, it was an experiment. Would it even work? Would people be able to connect with each other and the teacher online? Would we feel that others in the group had a sense of what we were experiencing int...ernally? The answer was yes. Here are 10 things I didn’t know about online self-compassion training that I’ve learned since then..." Read the full blog here - https://tinyurl.com/y5rrj4p5 #online #selfcompassion

09.01.2022 How to Foster Empathy and Compassion in Children During the Pandemic "Rarely is there an event that affects all children, parents, and families around the globe. When the pandemic first hit, I was curious as to what the experience looks like for different families. So, I interviewed families residing across eight different cities and four different continents. One question I asked was, What are one or two qualities that you would like to instill in your children during this ...time? Every parent mentioned either empathy or compassion. Empathy and compassion mark a shift from me to us. These are not traits that we are born with; rather, they are skills that can be cultivated over time. Similar to learning a new skill, like playing the piano or swimming, the more we practice, the better we are. But, it requires intentionality. Here are some ways that parents can cultivate empathy and compassion in their children..." read the full blog here - https://tinyurl.com/yxn4olmz #compassion #empathy #pandemic #children

09.01.2022 Alone for the Holidays? Here Are Some Ways You Can Make Your Season Feel More Fruitful "For many people, holidays have a tendency to dredge up past sadness. Individuals often have time away from work and fewer distractions and may begin to ruminate about lost relationships or loved ones who have passed away, says Dr. Leela R. Magavi, psychiatrist and regional medical director at Community Psychiatry. Post-traumatic symptoms may emerge or worsen around the holidays and exac...erbate feelings of loneliness. Magavi stresses that spending this time alone isn’t something to blame yourself for. Being alone for the holidays is simply a statement about your environment, not your ability or your worth. Let’s look at some actionable steps you can take to feel fulfilled during the holidays...." Read this wonderfully compassionate blog from the Greatist here - https://tinyurl.com/y2p8wyg4 #holiday #compassion #lonely

08.01.2022 Breathing together How to stop comparing ourselves "Most of the time when we ask someone about their work, we indirectly question their social status. Unbeknownst to us our brains are equipped with a kind of application that continuously assesses social rank. This App has an adaptive function. In Social Rank Theory, evolutionary psychologists propose that this kind of App has developed to allow individuals to position themselves within a group. Being at the top of the socia...l ladder has multiple benefits in terms of access to wealth, care, and education, which in turn prolongs lifespan and promotes the transmission of genes. But when we enter into relationship with others, this social rank App works like a kind of see-saw. Do you remember see-saws when you were a kid? It was a lot more fun to fly up high than to fall down heavily... What if we decided to get off this see-saw? How would we go about doing just that? A good place to start could be to simply remember that we are all human beings and explore what that means. We all have experienced pain, doubt and hope. We share our deepest ancestral and universal fears. We are afraid of dying, of being crazy and of being rejected. We hope, consciously or not, to be seen and loved. We fear abandonment but seek warmth and shelter to rest. Most simply we all breathe...." Read the full blog here - https://tinyurl.com/y27b6w2k #compassion #sharedhummanity #breathe

08.01.2022 5 Ways Men Can Practice Compassionate Leadership "Let’s be honest; empathy, validation, and emotional support are more often permitted from female leaders than it is from male leaders in the workplace. When employees are stressed or emotionally turbulent, they are more likely to keep it to themselves at work than go to a male boss and cry the blues or ask for help. It’s not really anyone’s fault that it happens this way. For generations, we have been conditioned to believe th...at a man is somehow less of a man if he displays compassion and vulnerability. As a result, many men in the role of ‘leader have chosen to keep their human connection and emotional intelligence at a professional distance from the very people that need it most; the people they lead... ...The stigma of strong men being seen as soft is no longer an excuse that can be used to justify a lack of compassion. If there was ever a time for men in leadership to lead with compassion this is it. Here are five ways men can practice compassionate leadership..." Read the full blog from The Good Men Project here - https://tinyurl.com/y57qkz3y #compassion #leadership

08.01.2022 Mindfulness, Compassion, and Self-Compassion Among Health Care Professionals: What's New? A Systematic Review "Health care professionals (HCPs) are a population at risk for high levels of burnout and compassion fatigue. The aim of the present systematic review was to give an overview on recent literature about mindfulness and compassion characteristics of HCPs, while exploring the effectiveness of techniques, involving the two aspects, such as MBSR or mindfulness intervention... and compassion fatigue-related programs. A search of databases, including PubMed and PsycINFO, was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and the methodological quality for this systematic review was appraised using AMSTAR-2 (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews-2). The number of articles that met the inclusion criteria was 58 (4 RCTs, 24 studies with pre-post measurements, 12 cross-sectional studies, 11 cohort studies and 7 qualitative studies). MBSR intervention was effective at improving, and maintaining, mindfulness and self-compassion levels and to improve burnout, depression, anxiety, stress. The most frequently employed interventional strategies were mindfulness-related trainings that were effective at improving mindfulness and self-compassion, but not compassion fatigue levels. Compassion-related interventions have been shown to improve self-compassion, mindfulness and interpersonal conflict levels. Mindfulness was effective at improving negative affect and compassion fatigue, while compassion satisfaction may be related to cultivation of positive affect. This systematic review summarized the evidence regarding mindfulness- and compassion-related qualities of HCPs as well as potential effects of MBSR, mindfulness-related and compassion-related interventions on professionals' psychological variables like mindfulness, self-compassion and quality of life. Combining structured mindfulness and compassion cultivation trainings may enhance the effects of interventions, limit the variability of intervention protocols and improve data comparability of future research." Read the full article, publishes recently in Frontiers in Psychology, here - "https://tinyurl.com/y3qcpwrj" #compassion #mindfulness #healthcare #research

07.01.2022 Insght Timer Meditation - Five Minutes Of Self Compassion by Lisa Abramson "This is a short self-compassion meditation. Research by PhD Kristin Neff, suggests that giving ourselves a break and accepting our imperfections may be the first step toward better health. People who score high on tests of self-compassion have less depression and anxiety, and tend to be happier and more optimistic. Many of us were raised with the belief that we need to be hard on ourselves to get thin...gs done. Research has shown that the opposite is true. The key to getting more done is to be kind and gentle with yourself. Self-compassion actually boosts willpower." Listen to the free meditation now - https://tinyurl.com/yys822vg #meditation #selfcompassion

06.01.2022 Chronic Pain, Self-Compassion, and Psychological Flexibility "Both higher psychological flexibility and self-compassion significantly correlated with reduced impact of chronic pain. Higher self-compassion was associated with substantially more openness, awareness and engagement, less pain interference, better work and social adjustment, and less intense depressive symptoms." Read the full review of recent research published in the Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science he...re - https://tinyurl.com/y45uz46d #selfcompassion #chronicpain #research

06.01.2022 Why Self-Compassion and Emotion Regulation Are Key to Coping with COVID-19 "Put simply, healthy emotion regulation involves monitoring, tempering and modifying emotional reactions in helpful ways in order to reach personal and professional goals. When we’re feeling disappointed or joyful or anxious, what do we do to feel more or less of that feeling, to hang onto that feeling or shift to feeling something different? Importantly, this doesn’t mean ignoring inconvenient emotion...s. Rather, it’s learning to accept and deal with themboth your own and others’ emotions. When we give ourselves and others permission to feel all emotions, we become less attached, reactive and overwhelmed by them." Read the full blog on EDSurge here - https://tinyurl.com/y635p6ap #compassion #COVID19

06.01.2022 Turning compassion inwards A well supported blog post which summarises the evidence as to why self-compassion is vital, not only for nurses but more generally for all in a caring profession or role. "Self-compassion is, of course, important for everyone. However, those in compassionate roles are at greater risk of compassion fatigue if they don’t turn their compassion inwards. It can also mean they miss out on the benefits of self-compassion.... Describing self-compassion as a ‘sensory, embodied process,’ Dr Barratt explains that being kind to the self allows nurses to better identify what is good for them and to trust their instincts about what they need at a given time...." To read more, including strategies to boost self-compassion, read the full blog here - https://tinyurl.com/y2nz9rje #compassion #nursing

06.01.2022 ‘Suddenly you are King Solomon’: Multiplicity, transformation and integration in compassion-focused therapy chairwork "Abstract Chairwork is a psychotherapeutic method that frequently focuses on self-multiplicity and internal relationships. Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) uses chairwork to generate and apply compassion towards threat-based aspects of the self. This study explores self-multiplicity in a CFT chairwork intervention for self-criticism. Twelve participants with d...epression were interviewed following the intervention and the resultant data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three super-ordinate themes were identified: differentiating selves; mental imagery of selves; and integrating and transforming selves with compassion. The results highlight how the intervention enabled clients to differentiate internal aspects of themselves in a way that was accessible and helpful, increasing self-complexity and introducing the potential to observe and change patterns of self-to-self relating. The process of bringing compassion to self-criticism was shown to integrate both aspects of the critical dialogue, transforming the ‘critic’ by understanding its fears and function. The use of mental imagery was also shown to facilitate clients’ experience of self-multiplicity and to symbolize the kind of changes generated by the exercise. Implications for clinical practice are discussed." Read the full article here - https://tinyurl.com/y54v3yme

06.01.2022 Specific emotion-regulation processes explain the relationship between mindfulness and self-compassion with coping-motivated alcohol and marijuana use "Abstract Previous research has established coping-motivated use to be the most problematic form of substance use. While dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion have been associated with lower levels of coping-motivated use in undergraduate students, possible mechanisms underlying these relationships have never been teste...d. The present two-part study examines whether specific emotion-regulation processes underlie the negative relationship between mindfulness and self-compassion with drinking to cope with depression and anxiety (Study One) and coping-motivated marijuana use (Study Two). The study also tests an alternative model examining whether difficulties in emotion-regulation is associated with lower levels of specific mindfulness skills, and in turn higher levels of coping-motivated use.Undergraduate students completed self-report measures assessing their levels of dispositional mindfulness, self-compassion, difficulties in emotion-regulation, and coping-motivated alcohol and marijuana use. In Study One (N = 187), mediation analyses revealed that mindfulness and self-compassion were associated with higher levels of access to emotion-regulation strategies, which in turn was associated with lower levels of drinking to cope with depression, but not anxiety. In Study Two (N = 170), mediation analyses revealed that mindfulness and self-compassion were associated with higher levels of acceptance of emotional responses, which in turn was associated with lower levels of coping-motivated marijuana use. In the alternative model, the mindfulness skill of acting with awareness partially explained the relationship between difficulties in emotion-regulation and drinking to cope with depression and anxiety, but not coping-motivated marijuana use. Results contribute to theoretical models and implications are discussed." Read the full research article, published in Addictive Behaviors, here - https://tinyurl.com/y63veum6 #compassion #addiction #alcohol #marijuana

04.01.2022 Developing a Compassionate Mind This video was developed by the partnership between The Difference (www.the-difference.com) and Balanced Minds (www.balancedminds.com) to help educate the parents of school children about 'tricky brains', 'multiple selves', and the role of compassion in helping to resolve parent-child conflict and other difficulties. This video draws from the science and practice of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), founded by Paul Gilbert and developed by the ...Compassionate Mind Foundation (www.compassionatemind.co.uk). https://tinyurl.com/y5vr6suh #compassion #CFT #trickybrains

02.01.2022 Abuse or neglect in childhood is linked to fear of self-compassion in young adulthood "The researchers found that greater severity of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, and emotional and physical neglect was associated with greater fear of self-compassion. In other words, participants who reported more severe child maltreatment were more likely to agree with statements such as I feel that I don’t deserve to be kind and forgiving to myself and I fear that if I am more s...elf-compassionate I will become a weak person.... ...This suggests that regardless of the type of maltreatment, individuals who experienced one (or several) types of maltreatment, especially severe maltreatment, find the concept of self-compassion aversive for some reason, and may translate into difficulty giving themselves self-compassion, Messman-Moore told PsyPost." Read the full research review blog here - https://tinyurl.com/y4jmyaz6 #selfcompassion #fearofcompassion #abuse