5 Simple Ways to Boost Self-Compassion
Having self compassion can be a key skill for living a happy and fulfilling life. Self compassion means loving yourself and realizing that no one is perfect. Negative thoughts about ourselves will decrease our overall happiness.
Here are 5 simple ways to boost self compassion:
5 Self-Compassion Techniques
Stop Self-Criticizing
We often criticize ourselves without even realizing it. If you make a mistake, forgive yourself and learn from it, instead of self-criticizing. Treat yourself how you would treat others. If you criticize yourself in a way that you would never criticize a friend, it is time to take a closer look at your inner dialogue.
Realize You Are Not Alone
Everyone is human, so everyone makes mistakes. Someone out there has gone through the same thing you are going through. Realize that you are never alone and that the problem you are going through has happened to a lot of people.
Be Mindful of Your Inner Dialogue
Block out negative criticisms about yourself and replace them with positive, loving thoughts. Catch yourself thinking negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones.
Write Down Positive Thoughts
It can be helpful to keep a journal of things that made you happy during the day. For example, you cooked a great dinner and your friends praised you for it. Write down how good it made you feel. When you are feeling down on yourself, read your journal.
Take Time to Self-Reflect
Try meditating, breathing exercises, or another way of calming yourself down, and then reflect on your thoughts for the day. Think about your worth as a human and how much love you have for yourself. This is a good way to keep negative thoughts from taking over.
Self compassion is important; without it, self-criticism can lead to depression and negative health side e ects. Self compassion teaches us to be kind to ourselves. If you need help with self compassion or know someone who does, seeing a therapist can be a good idea. Philadelphia Therapist Eric Levin Ph.D. helps clients find their positive inner dialogue.
To learn more about self-compassion, contact Eric, a depression and anxiety specialist in Philadelphia.
Image Courtesty of brenkee via Pixabay – CC