Mindfulness Compassion and Self-compassion

Compassion means “to suffer together.” Researchers define it as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.

Compassion involves five elements: recognizing suffering in others; understanding the common humanity of this suffering; feeling emotionally connected with the person suffering; tolerating difficult feelings that may arise and acting or being motivated to act to help the person.

When we have compassion for another person, we are aware of their suffering, and we want to do something to alleviate it. This shows that we care enough about them to want to help.

Compassion also means that we are aware of the imperfect nature of being human. We realize that people have faults and don’t judge them harshly when they make mistakes.

“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” — Buddha

As the term implies, self-compassion is compassion directed at ourselves. It is the same as compassion for another person. Intellectually, it sounds straightforward, but putting it into practice can be a challenge.

Self-compassion involves treating yourself the way you treat a friend who is having a challenging time—even if your friend blew it, feels inadequate, or is just facing a tough life challenge. 

The complete definition of Self-Compassion involves three core elements that we bear when in pain: self-kindness, common humanity (the recognition that everyone makes mistakes and feels pain), and mindfulness.

When we are mindful of our struggles and respond to ourselves with compassion, kindness, and support in times of difficulty, things start to change. Despite inner and outer imperfections, we can learn to embrace ourselves and our lives and provide ourselves with the strength needed to thrive.

When we mindfully observe our pain, we can acknowledge our suffering without exaggerating it, allowing us to take a wiser and more objective perspective on ourselves and our lives.

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