Life can be full of difficulty and struggles, and no one deserves to go through this journey alone. It is essential to practice self-compassion in order to maintain good mental health. Self-compassion is acknowledging these challenges and looking after yourself with kindness, understanding, and empathy. In this article, we will discuss why self-compassion is so important and how to incorporate it into your life.
1. Rewarding Yourself With Self-Compassion
We all sometimes feel overwhelmed and overworked, or disappointed with how we handle a certain situation. But it’s important to recognize that those are normal feelings. Instead of beating yourself up, can be the key to success. Here are few tips to do just that.
- When You Feel Stressed Out: Find a positive, small way to reward yourself for all that you’ve achieved. Taking time out for yourself can help alleviate stress. Indulge in a soothing treatment such as a hot bubble bath, taking a yoga class or doing something that relaxes you.
- When You Set Goals And Reach Them: Achieving specific goals boosts confidence and helps create progress. When you’ve hit the target you set, give yourself a pat on the back and celebrate your success.
- When You Don’t Achieve Your Goals: We all face moments of failure. Nobody’s perfect, and life doesn’t always go as planned. When something doesn’t work out, be kind to yourself and acknowledge what you’ve achieved so far.
Reward yourself with some down time to process the setback. Afterwards you will be much better prepared to move on and continue striving to reach your goals.
It’s important to remember that self-care isn’t selfish: it strengthens your physical, mental and emotional health. Learning to be kind and generous with ourselves can encourage a healing, self-empowering mindset.
2. Unlocking Mental Health Benefits Through Self-Kindness
Self-kindness is a form of self-care we can practice to benefit our mental health. Instead of dwelling on our failing and lack of capabilities, self-kindness allows us to focus on our strengths and celebrate our capabilities.
Practicing self-kindness can involve:
- Not putting too much pressure on yourself to perform tasks, such as in academics or work.
- Acknowledging mistakes but practicing self-forgiveness instead of berating yourself.
- Having compassion for yourself when times are tough or when you’re having a bad day (e.g. comforting yourself with a hug or getting out and doing something that you enjoy).
Being compassionate to yourself can lower stress levels, ultimately improving our mental health. We can also choose to spread this kindness to those around us, being much more understanding towards our peers. This can encourage more compassion and understanding within the wider community.
By providing ourselves with enough kindness and understanding, we can increase our mental wellbeing which can help improve our overall quality of life. Whether it’s mid-week motivation or much needed reassurance, self-kindness is a healing art form that can benefit both our mental and physical wellbeing.
3. Overcoming the Fear of Self-Criticism
Self-criticism is a common fear that seemingly pops up out of nowhere. Many of us experience it and its nearly paralyzing effects. But tidying up our inner critic is one of those areas in life that requires daily and consistent effort to keep it from running amok. It can seem overwhelming, but with the right steps, it can be mastered.
Start by taking a step back and objectively grounding yourself in the moment. This requires you to disconnect yourself from the voice of your self-critical mind and allow yourself to make a plan for how to conquer it once and for all. Once you’re fully aware of the critic, define it and the words its uses.
The next step is to find new ways to challenge your inner critic. Acknowledge that it might have been right in the past, but allow yourself to look at events in a different light. Train yourself to replace its negativity with self-compassion and positivity. You can even imagine the critic as a cute animal, such as a puppy, which will make it easier to change your perspective on the situation.
Last of all, practice self-care. Focus on your hobbies and what makes you happy. Spend more time with friends or family. Beating the fear of self-criticism is a continuous learning and evolving process, so make sure to remain patient.
- Step back and objectively ground yourself in the moment.
- Define the inner critic.
- Challenge it with positivity and self-compassion.
- Practice self-care and patience.
4. Cultivating A Sustainable Habits of Self-Compassion
As we go through our lives, it can be hard to find the time to practice self-compassion. Instead, we often find ourselves with negative inner-chatter and feelings of guilt or regret. Thankfully, there are some key steps we can take to make self-compassion a sustainable habit for ourselves.
- Start Small – We don’t have to radically make changes in our lives all at once, or set strict, unachievable goals to succeed. It’s much better to start with basic, attainable steps. This will not only give us structure, but a sense of accomplishment as each goal is achieved.
- Check Our Thinking – It’s easy to think negatively of ourselves in the face of stress or difficult situations. But before we make harsh judgments, it’s important to be mindful of how our minds are responding, so we can correct our wrong thinking in the moment and take better care of ourselves.
- Find an Outlet – After we identify our stressors, it can be helpful to find an outlet to express our thoughts. Writing, speaking to a friend, or creating art can help us gain clarity and be kinder to ourselves. It’s important to have a safe place to explore our feelings and cultivate understanding for our own humanity.
- Compassionate Listening – Taking time to listen to our inner-voices can be a difficult yet rewarding journey. Ask ourselves questions, allowing us to gently steer our reactions in the direction of understanding and self-love.
Practicing these tips can open up a world of supportive and compassionate thinking. Once we master a few of these habits, observing our own self-love can become easier and allow us to help others in the same way. It’s time to be good to ourselves so we can be strong and cheerful for the people we love.
Now that you are equipped with an understanding of the importance of self-compassion in mental health, remember to always give yourself the same care and kindness that you would give to a close friend. Take the time to value and honor yourself, and you will be one step closer to achieving better mental health.
