Self-compassion
“Perhaps most importantly, having compassion for yourself means that you honor and accept your humanness. Things will not always go the way you want them to. You will encounter frustrations, losses will occur, you will make mistakes, bump up against your limitations, fall short of your ideals. This is the human condition, a reality shared by all of us. The more you open your heart to this reality instead of constantly fighting against it, the more you will be able to feel compassion for yourself and all your fellow humans in the experience of life.”
-Dr. Kristin Neff
What is self-compassion?
Self-compassion is an important form of self-care that focuses on transforming the way we speak to ourselves, view ourselves, and treat ourselves. We can learn to love ourselves and reflect on how kind we are to our minds and bodies but it takes repetition, time, and practice. We feel it is important to discuss because of how useful self-compassion and self-love can be, especially when fighting through illnesses like POTS. We can be very hard on ourselves, both emotionally and physically. Emotionally we can be hard on ourselves when putting ourselves down, and physically we may be hard on ourselves when not taking the time to rest or recover that we know we may need. Learning how to be patient, kind, gentle, and compassionate with your mind and body can make quite a large difference. More information specific to self-compassion can be found below, with a button providing you with access to many wonderful resources, exercises, and templates!
How would you talk to a friend in a similar situation?
If you start writing down all of the things you may tell yourself in a day, you might be surprised by what you find. Many in our community tell themselves that they aren’t good enough, should be doing more, and it can become very discouraging. Imagine if you had a friend telling you all of the things you tell yourself in a day. Would you still want to have that person as a friend? For many of us, that answer is no! So, let’s start treating ourselves and talking to ourselves the way we would when talking with a good friend. Is there someone in your life who you know practices good self-compassion and self-care? What is it about that person that tells you they take care of themselves in this way? What would an ideal day of taking care of yourself look like? What does self-compassion mean to you?