Self-Compassion Psychology

 Self-Compassion is the means by which we alleviate pain or distress by acknowledging its cause, making room for it, and finding ways to direct kindness to it.  Many people find themselves avoiding or trying to dull stress with other means, which tends to store rather than process stress, increasing its effect over time. Much distress is caused by or heightened by the inability to identify the source of stress and address it in a way that decreases shame, guilt and feelings of powerlessness.

 Self-Compassion Psychology addresses these issues by increasing one's awareness of their experience, their capacity to process experience through an allowance and acceptance of experience, and finally decreases suffering by providing strategies and concepts for bringing kindness or compassion to this experience. In simpler terms, awareness identifies suffering; acceptance neutralizes suffering; kindness heals suffering.

There is much ongoing research on self-compassion and self-compassion practices.  Research currently supports self-compassion techniques as effective means for resolving stress and increasing self-agency (empowerment and stress management skills) (Neff, 2003; Fredrickson et al, 2008).