Throughout 2019, the theme on this blog (and my life) has been self-compassion. It’s an important topic for those of us with health conditions as too often we feel our struggles are a burden to others and we neglect to offer ourselves the love and nurture we need. This road can be a hard one and it’s okay to acknowledge the struggle as we continue to live lives based on values and meaning

This focus started off in January with a link outlining the scientific benefits of being kind and caring to ourselves. Check it out if you want to delve into some of the research outcomes of adopting self-compassion.

Today I have a book recommendation if you are looking for some guidance as to how to adopt a self-compassionate stance.

I had the pleasure of attending a recent workshop with Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer here in Vancouver. They are whole-hearted ambassadors of the work they teach and it is clear they use the practices themselves.

Although much of the information and many of the practices are available at self-compassion.org, I found the workbook to be a valuable resource for approaching them in a step-wise fashion. By allowing myself to take time to explore each idea as it unfolded, I was able to see a gradual inclination toward self-compassion emerge and grow.

If you try it out, please let me know what you think!