Self-compassion

what exercise research suggests about the way sensitivity may extend to sensations coming from the inside of your body, and why learning to trust your preferences doesn't have to mean that you stop challenging yourself.

Welcome to this edition of Self-Compassion Wednesdays, where we dive deeper into understanding ourselves as highly sensitive people by exploring the unique traits that shape our experience.

You might already exercise regularly.

Maybe you love going for walks or you hike or you do yoga or you swim or ride your bike, or maybe you go to the gym, but prefer moving at a pace that feels comfortable and sustainable.

Um, and in fact, in your book, The Little Course of...

The Book of Self-Compassion-

Oh, yes

...

It's not all darkness, and it doesn't have to be that my whole life blows up.

So it really is just slowing down, observing, giving yourself this radical self-compassion and realizing what an amazing person you are.

I love that you brought up Christina Neff, her book Fear Self-Compassion.

Mm-hmm.

'Cause there's so many points to that too.

She and I are talking about running a course.

I've sort of put together a five-week, one-and-a-half-hour course from the Mindful Self-Compassion material, which is fantastic.

Like there's an eight week, two and three quarter hour course that is, I mean, to my mind, it's almost too full.

And that's why I sort of pulled out the bits I really like and put it into this shorter course because that sense you need to get into a habit of practicing and just not to have too much information at a time.

I don't know if you...

The first paper I ever published on self-compassion was called Self-Compassion: A Healthier Alternative to Self-Esteem, [laughs] precisely because of this, th- this idea of esteeming ourself.

You know, what...

It can be...

If you just Google self-compassion, because it's been there for 20 years.

I, I kind of got the market, not cornered, but I'll come up.

And I, I have something now called the Self-Compassion Institute, which does a few things.

First of all, a ton of free resources on my website.

In this episode, you'll discover why you can feel lonely even when you know you're being deeply loved, why the people closest to you can know a lot about your life without really knowing your inner world, and how you can feel more understood without needing someone to see the world exactly as you do.

Welcome to this edition of Self-Compassion Wednesdays, where we dive deeper into understanding ourselves as highly sensitive people by exploring the unique traits that shape our experience.

We usually associate loneliness with being alone or isolated or lacking meaningful relationships, but there's another kind of loneliness that can happen right in the middle of a good relationship.

Someone loves you, they care what happens to you, they're happy when things go well for you.

And today, for episode 297, Sharon sits down with Dr. Chris Germer.

We're talking today about his new book, Self-Compassion for Shame: A Step-by-Step Guide to Inner Freedom.

If you don't know Chris's work, you may be familiar with him without even realizing it.

He's one of the main reasons that the teachings, the concept, even the term self-compassion is as widely known today as it is.

He is a clinical psychologist, and he lectures on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

He co-developed the Mindful Self-Compassion Program with Dr. Kristin Neff in 2010, which has been taught hundreds of thousands of times to people.

And he and Kristin have also co-authored several books, The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout, and several others.

So we're delighted to have Chris here today.

Um, or maybe it's a holiday dinner at someone else's table.

And I call it, I give it a name.

And this is something that I use with a lot of clients I work with.

So listen in, because this can actually really benefit you in making healthier choices with your food and seeing the benefits of a healthier lifestyle.

Neff, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and definitely one of the world's leading researchers on self-compassion.

If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it.

It's of the same name, Self-Compassion.

She has shown that self-compassion is positively associated with health-promoting behaviors, including exercise, healthy eating, and sustainable behavior change.

In this episode, you'll discover why your emotional state can change so quickly around someone who's anxious or upset, what may be happening internally when your emotional state starts to follow theirs, and how empathy can begin to feel different when you recognize where their experience ends and yours begins.

Welcome to this edition of Self-Compassion Wednesdays, where we dive deeper into understanding ourselves as highly sensitive people by exploring the unique traits that shape our experience.

Imagine you're talking with someone you care about.

Maybe they're worried about something at work.