How Cultivating Self-Compassion Can Improve Your Mental Health

Keeping your mental health at a stable level, simply being okay with who you are, is somewhat of a challenge these days. In the era of social networks and numerous ways to showcase yourself, not everyone has the power to look beyond the image.

People browse Instagram and think to themselves: why am I not this happy person? Should I be enjoying life more? The answer is yes, you should, but trying to be happy isn’t the way to go.

Instead, you might want to boost your own mechanisms, such as self-compassion. In fact, cultivating self-compassion can improve your overall mental health, so browsing Instagram profiles won’t immediately make you think you’re somehow less worthy than people desperately trying to impress others. 

What is self-compassion exactly?

At its core, self-compassion refers to acting the identical way towards yourself as you would towards others who are, just like yourself, having a difficult time or going through a rough period in their lives. Instead of embracing self-compassion as a defense mechanism (in the lightest sense of the word), many people choose to face challenging times by judging themselves for not being tough enough to handle the storm they’re going through. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be; you could try to stop and say: hey, these are difficult times, and it’s completely fine to feel unprepared and emotionally distressed. Also, ask yourself: what can I do to make this person that I am feel better? 

Adopting self-compassion will help you through some tough times and make you stronger. Constantly self-sabotaging and criticizing yourself for this or that won’t do you any good, as humans aren’t supposed to be perfect (regardless of what your Instagram feed is trying to feed you). 

How can self-compassion improve your mental health?

Instead of repeating ourselves, here’s some information that speaks for itself. Okay, so we know that autistic adults experience higher levels of anxiety and depression, as noted in a study by Cai and Brown. However, research has proven (also mentioned in the study in question) that practicing and nurturing self-compassion is very helpful to autistic adults. There’s no need to underline that researchers have found out that it boosts mental stability in nonautistic people as well.

It's alright to have doubts

Some people can get pretty cautious about self-compassion. That’s because they’re concerned about whether such a stance towards oneself might do some damage to their motivation; they might say that being so easy on yourself can only do you bad. Wrong! Studies have found that the opposite is true: people are more productive and careful about the work they’re doing when they’re self-compassionate. 

The bonds we share with others

For a person to be mentally stable, nurturing authentic feelings of kinship (and relationships in general) with other people is crucial. Most often, self-compassion results in more fulfilling and stronger relationships: the more gentler we are toward ourselves, the better we become towards others. People who have adopted self-compassion are known to enjoy relationships more and generally possess a more optimistic view of human interaction. 

Decreased chances of anxiety and depression

If you’re constantly criticizing yourself, that can have a bad influence on the state of your mental health: you can easily develop symptoms of anxiety and depression. Being too harsh on yourself puts your brain into the so-called threat state, which basically means you’re always battling the fight-or-flight dilemma. A prolonged threat state can result in the emergence of anxiety and depression symptoms.

People who are self-compassionate tend to have more fulfilling relationships with others. 

On the other side, if you’re ready to show some compassion towards the mistakes you’ve made and the struggles you bear, you’ll steer clear of stepping into a threat state.

Now, of course, sometimes depression isn’t something you can deal with by showing self-compassion, as depression might require professional assistance that only a highly specialized and licensed mental health center in the likes of We Level Up FL, also referred to as We Level Up Tamarac FL, can address. This modern facility offers lifesaving mental health treatment for various anxiety and depression disorders. As such, We Level Up Tamarac FL is a perfect place to build the self-confidence needed to be more attentive to your needs.

Cultivating self-compassion might be, among others, a good method of battling depressive states, but it’s often not enough. Because of this, you should not hesitate to seek out professional assistance. Self-love and care will come in time if you give yourself a chance.

How to become more self-compassionate

Here, we’ll share some tips on cultivating self-compassion and providing a solid foundation for a healthier mental life.

Keep a journal

• Throughout the whole week, you can keep track of the moments where you’ve felt overly self-judgemental, where you’ve felt like the world will end because you’ve done this or that. There’s a good chance you’ll notice patterns. Meditate on why these feelings appear and what can happen if you transform negative, worst-case-scenario thought patterns into something of value to your well-being. 

Encourage yourself

• If you find yourself in a challenging situation, simply think about the words of encouragement you’d use to comfort a good friend if they were facing the same issue(s). It can be somewhat difficult to act in such a manner, but it won’t hurt to try.

Shift your focus

• Instead of focusing on how others perceive you, you should focus on how you see yourself: you don’t need external validation. Besides, you can never be sure what others really think of you. Plus, most people are concerned about the way others see them, leaving them little time (or no time) to cross-analyze others. Therefore, they’re not really thinking about you in the way you imagine.

Make yourself comfortable

• Not just your mind and thoughts but your body deserves some comfort, too. Keep a healthy diet, make sure to get enough rest, introduce a daily walking routine, etc. Each action that makes you feel better physically will give you nature’s own shot at self-compassion. 

How cultivating self-compassion can improve your mental health: Bottom line

As you had a chance to read, cultivating self-compassion can have a positive effect on the state of your mental health. Being kind towards themselves is something people can easily forget. It’s no wonder many of our contemporaries feel emotionally drained, anxious, and unsatisfied. Encouraging yourself on a daily basis, keeping track of negative thought patterns, and being physically active – are all examples of what you can do to enjoy some self-compassion and overall mental stability.