Podcasts about mindful self compassion

When Dr. Jo received news that her podcast reached the top 3% globally, her first instinct was to credit grit and optimization—but the real truth was much more profound. In this heartfelt finale to our 10-episode block, we explore how healthcare workers become so focused on improving themselves that they lose connection to their own humanity. Discover why reconnecting with yourself as a human being—not just a healthcare provider—might be the missing piece in your burnout recovery. Learn practical tools for self-connection using the four pillars of Sleep, Support, Mindset, and Movement, and give yourself permission to matter beyond what you do for others. Resources: Dr. Kristin Neff's Self-Compassion research: self-compassion.org "The Body Keeps the Score" by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk Center for Mindful Self-Compassion: centerformsc.org Join Dr. Jo's newsletter for more burnout recovery insights https://drjobraid.com www.instagram.com/burnoutrecoverydr www.linkedin.com/in/drjobraidSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shawn Needham, R.Ph., talks with Dr. Deborah Butler about how to have mindful self-compassion & freedom from diet culture. Dr. Deb Butler Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/drdebbutler Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/drdebbutler/ YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@dr.debbutler4544 Podcast | https://podcasts.apple.com/do/podcast/thinner-peace-in-menopause/id1097852666?l=en-GB Website | https://drdebbutler.com/podcast-companion-guide?utm_source=podcastguest Moses Lake Professional Pharmacy Website | http://mlrx.com.com/ Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/MosesLakeProfessionalPharmacy/ Shawn Needham X| https://x.com/ShawnNeedham2 Shawn's Book | http://mybook.to/Sickened_The_Book Additional Links https://linktr.ee/mlrx

We've been taught that pain always means something is broken, but it's often just a "stuck" danger signal in the brain. To show us how to turn that signal off, Jill Stoddard talks with Alan Gordon, the founder of the Pain Psychology Center and author of The Way Out. Drawing on his own recovery from chronic pain, Alan explains how fear and conditioning keep us hurting even after we've healed.Through fascinating stories like the "construction worker" case and MRI surprise, they dive into the science of neuroplastic pain and the tools you can use to retrain your nervous system, build stress tolerance, and finally feel safe in your own body again.Listen and Learn:Alan's personal frustration with navigating a broken medical system and how that led to the discovery of a groundbreaking mind-body approach that offers lasting relief for chronic painHow your brain can misinterpret emotional stress or past memories as physical danger to create real, persistent pain even after an injury has fully healed The specific clues that can reveal whether your chronic physical pain is actually coming from your brain, and how to break the cycle of fear that keeps symptoms alive The reason why traditional recovery methods can fail when we ignore our internal state, and how "backward engineering" your physical tension can signal to your brain that the danger has passed Why the clinical evolution of Pain Reprocessing Therapy shifted from exploring unconscious emotions to targeting the brain's internal danger signals, and how modern neuroscience identifies the hidden driver keeping your physical symptoms alive Why somatic tracking outperforms traditional mindfulness Resources:The Way Out: A Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Healing Chronic Pain https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9780593086858 Pain Psychology Center Website: https://painpsychologycenter.com/Follow the Pain Psychology Center on Social Media: https://instagram.com/thepainpsychologycenterhttps://www.facebook.com/painpsychologycenterTell Me About Your Pain - Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tell-me-about-your-pain/id1503847664 The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pain-reprocessing-therapy-podcast/id1785564399 TEDxAdelaide - Lorimer Moseley - Why Things Hurt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwd-wLdIHjsAbout Alan GordonAlan Gordon is the creator of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and founder of the Pain Psychology Center. He developed PRT through years of clinical practice and research, and its efficacy has been validated in randomized controlled trials published in JAMA Psychiatry. He is the author of The Way Out: A Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Healing Chronic Pain.Related Episodes:39. Chronic Pain with Adrianne Sloan75. Mindful Self-Compassion with Christopher Germer114. Way of Effortless Mindfulness with Loch Kelly155. Mindfulness and Recovery with Rebecca Williams177. Mind-Body Practices for Stress and Overwhelm with Rebekkah LaDyne201. Fierce Compassion with Kristin Neff336. Mindfulness and Living Expansively with Sharon Salzberg364. The Brain-Gut Connection with Megan RiehlSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jesus shows up on a beach after the worst week of his friends' lives and asks a disarmingly simple question: have you eaten anything? This week we push back against the lie of scarcity and practice the defiant, countercultural act of believing there is enough.   LINKS:  Current Conversation | Connect | YouTube |  Coming Up TRANSCRIPT: Eat Something: Waking Up to Being Fed The Question That Shouldn't Be Radical A beat of honesty to begin… This week's message is built around a phrase that should not be controversial. It shouldn't raise anyone's blood pressure. It shouldn't feel political. It shouldn't require courage to say. The phrase is: There actually is enough. And yet… depending on your life experience, where you grew up, what your bank account looks like, what neighborhood you're in… that phrase might land anywhere from obviously true to laughably false to offensive, because you don't know my life. So before we go anywhere else, let's hold all of that. Let's hold the complexity of that sentence in the room together. The Story… Breakfast on the Beach (John 21:1–14) Tell the story… Let's paint the scene: It's after the resurrection. The disciples are rattled, confused, grief-stained. They've seen what they've seen, but nothing has quite settled yet. So they do the thing people do when they don't know what else to do: they go back to work. Peter says, I'm going fishing. And the others say, We'll come too. They fish all night. They catch nothing. Then, as dawn is breaking, a figure appears on the shore. He calls out: "Hey, you don't have any fish, do you?" They say no. He tells them to throw the net on the other side of the boat. They do — and suddenly there are so many fish they can't haul the net in. And then — and this is one of my favorite mental pictures of Jesus ever — they get to shore, and he's already has a charcoal fire going. Fish already on it. Bread already there. He doesn't wait for them to bring what they caught and make it into something. There is already something prepared. And he says: "Come and have breakfast." There's no moment of like… “let's debrief the last week.” or “I need you to understand what just happened.” Come and have breakfast. Pull up some sand and have a seat. The first thing the newly-alive Jesus does with his bewildered, grieving, exhausted friends is to feed them. The Lie of Scarcity Now — here's where we need to be honest with each other, and honest about the world we actually live in. Because it is not true that everyone in this room or in this city, or this country has always had enough to eat. Or enough to feel safe. Or enough to rest. In 2024, nearly 1 in 7 U.S. households — that's 47.9 million people — experienced food insecurity at some point during the year. Nearly 1 in 5 households with children were food insecure, the highest rate since 2014.  And those numbers are not distributed evenly. Almost 1 in 4 Black households, 1 in 5 Hispanic households, and nearly 1 in 3 American Indian and Alaska Native households were food insecure in 2024 — at least double the rate for non-Hispanic white households. These inequities reflect the impact of structural barriers rooted in systemic racism and other forms of discrimination that result in higher rates of poverty.  So when we talk about scarcity — we have to say this plainly: for a lot of people in our lives and community, scarcity has not been a philosophical problem or a spiritual metaphor. It has been Tuesday. An embodied, lived reality. And we have to also say: that is not because the earth doesn't produce enough. It's not because there isn't enough food, or enough housing, or enough care to go around. The pie is plenty big. But the slices are cut unevenly.. Research from the Federal Reserve Board shows that Black families' median wealth was approximately 15% that of white families — $44,900 compared to $285,000 — in 2022. Studies indicate these racial disparities persist even when factors like income and education are accounted for, suggesting that pervasive racism embedded in historical, political, and economic systems continues to drive the gap.  Scarcity, as most of us experience it, is manufactured. It is the product of systems — empire systems, to use a biblical word — that concentrate abundance at the top and make the rest fight over the remainder. The problem is not that there isn't enough fish in the sea. The problem is who controls the nets. What Jesus Keeps Doing And this is where the Easter story opens up into something larger than one morning on a beach. Because if you read the Gospels as a whole — if you trace the arc of what Jesus actually did — you start to notice a pattern. Feeding keeps happening. Abundance keeps showing up in the middle of scarcity. Five loaves and two fish for thousands of people, and there are baskets left over. Water turned to wine at a wedding — not a trickle, but somewhere between 120 and 180 gallons. A woman who loses a coin and sweeps her whole house until she finds it, then throws a party that probably costs more than the coin. A father who sees his prodigal kid coming from a long way off and kills the fatted calf — we're celebrating tonight. Over and over, Jesus enacts this: there is enough. More than enough. Abundance is the character of the divine, not scarcity. And then he dies. And the people who crucified him — Rome, the religious gatekeepers, the systems that depended on keeping people in their place — they thought that was the end of it. But here's what resurrection means, in part: his teachings didn't die with him. The practices didn't die. The communities he formed kept forming. Throughout history, untold numbers of people, inspired by this life and death, have put their bodies and their resources on the line to insist — there is enough, and we're going to share it. The church at its best — not its worst, not its empire-adjacent self, but its best — has always been a community that takes the fish off the fire and says come and have breakfast. That is what resurrection looks like in a neighborhood. In a coalition. In a food pantry. In a protest. In a community that shows up, over and over, to say: the story of scarcity is a lie, and we're not going to live by it. What We're Doing Here, Fabric… And here's where I want to get concrete, because I think this community is doing exactly that kind of work — and I don't want us to miss it or undervalue it. Our new partnership with ISAIAH — a statewide coalition of congregations and allies working for racial and economic equity in Minnesota GuideStar — is one expression of this. ISAIAH was founded in 2000 and has won real, tangible things: healthcare access for all children regardless of immigration status, billions in public transit funding, paid leave, homeowners' rights. These are not small things. These are exactly the kind of retooling… taking systems built on scarcity and bending them toward abundance… that the beach breakfast points toward. When Fabric shows up in public — at Fabric on the Town events like this past Friday at Midtown Global Market, for Fabric in Action events, or simply at tables in the neighborhood— we are not doing outreach in the old-school sense of trying to recruit people to our club. We are practicing what it looks like to be a community that shows up and says: we're here. We see you. There's room at the table.  When you show up on Sunday, or in your Fabric group, or check in on someone during the week — you are participating in this same movement. You are part of a network that is slowly, stubbornly, defiantly insisting that there is enough connection, enough care, enough belonging to go around. This is not soft or peripheral… this is the work. The Hard Part: Receiving But here's where I want to gently push, because there's a move in this story that's easy to skip over. The disciples don't just witness the breakfast. Jesus tells them to bring what they caught — and they do. And then he says: come and eat. Receiving is part of this. And for a lot of us — especially those of us who've been trained by scarcity, by systems that told us our needs were a burden, by communities or families that taught us to make do and not ask — receiving is actually the harder practice. Self-compassion researchers Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer have spent years documenting something that resonates here: one of the key barriers to human flourishing is not a lack of generosity toward others, but an inability to extend that same generosity to ourselves. Their work in Mindful Self-Compassion identifies a move they call mindful awareness — which is simply this: noticing what is actually happening in your experience right now, without immediately narrating it, judging it, or trying to fix it. Not: I shouldn't feel this way. Not: Other people have it worse. Not: If I just work harder, I'll feel okay. Just: This is what is happening in me right now. That kind of honest, gentle noticing — of your own hunger, your own exhaustion, your own longing — is actually a prerequisite for being able to receive. You can't take food you don't know you need. Closing Practice So let's close with something simple. An invitation to practice mindful awareness — and what this story might call coming to the fire. Take a breath. Let your feet feel the floor. And ask yourself — without judgment, without fixing — one of these questions. Just one. Let whichever lands, land. Where am I running on empty right now? What kind of nourishment have I been telling myself I don't need, or don't deserve, or can wait?

Join us for "Between the Lines", an online series that brings the mindfulness community together to explore the books, papers, and other resources that have shaped the mindfulness field — alongside the authors and thinkers who created them.   In this insightful session, Kristin Neff responds to community questions from our book club–style discussion of her title, "Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout: Tools to Help You Heal and Recharge When You're Wrung Out by Stress".   Our "Between the Lines" events will take place monthly over 2026. View more of our upcoming mindfulness courses and events ▶️ https://oxfordmindfulness.org/courses-events   Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website https://oxfordmindfulness.org/

Today I welcome to the podcast Drs. Risa Adams, Robin Beardsley, and Elizabeth Parsons. They are family physicians turned psychotherapists who came together during the pandemic to write, find community, and speak for their parts. What they found in that process and wrote about in their new book, It Doesn't Have To Be This Way: A Physician's Guide To Radical Self Care (by three physicians who've been there), is something most caregivers, doctors, healthcare workers, therapists, parents, partners, anyone who finds their worth in being needed, will recognize. In This Episode The parts that helped you survive by taking care of everyone else Why fear and shame rarely get spoken out loud in medicine, or anywhere caregiving happens What finally broke each of them, and what helped Writing as a way to let parts be witnessed for the first time Why belonging and helping got tangled together so early Takeaways Helper parts learned that helping was the price of belonging The parts that make you good at caring for others are often the same parts driving burnout Burnout is a signal that the strategy has run out of space Being witnessed by people who get it can reach parts that have never been spoken out loud The culture around caregiving, in medicine and elsewhere, rewards the helper and punishes the one who needs This episode is for anyone who has ever made themselves smaller so there would be room to help. Links: Book: It Doesn't Have to Be This Way: A Physician's Guide to Radical Self-Care IFS Canadian Community Conference: A two-day online gathering for professionals using Internal Family Systems in their work, and for those exploring how IFS may support their professional practice. June 5-6, 2026, online. About the guests: Risa Adams, MD, CCFP, is a family physician with a focused practice in perinatal mental health and complex PTSD. She is a Certified IFS Therapist, Approved Clinical Consultant and Trainer with the IFS Institute. Through her own travels with mental health she has come to appreciate the complexity of being a human while being a physician, with a special interest in intergenerational trauma. Risa lives in Elora, Ontario, with her partner and two children, and hopes to help bring IFS to doctors, patients and her own communities. Robin Beardsley, MD, FCFP, a Family Physician with over 35 years' experience of comprehensive family medicine practice and psychotherapy with a focus on care for the caregiver. She is a certified IFS-I Therapist, approved Clinical Consultant, with extensive training in the Satir Model and is a trained teacher of Mindful Self Compassion. She also works with learners, as a faculty member of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa, and teaches Self Compassion for Health Care Communities. These experiences of working with and healing from empathic distress in medical communities with IFS and Self-Compassion, along with her own journey of being a caregiver, personally and professionally, has given her a greater understanding of the complexity and multiplicity of our systems. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario with her husband and adult children nearby.   Elizabeth Parsons, MD, FCFP, has been a physician for over 25 years, practicing psychotherapy since 2007. She is a Certified IFS therapist and an Approved Clinical Consultant with the IFS Institute. In addition to IFS, Elizabeth is trained in trauma therapy and has been facilitating psychotherapy groups since 2010. Her interest in physician well being goes back to residency, when she surveyed medical residents on their coping strategies. She has been closely involved with the Medical Psychotherapy Association Canada since 2007, launching a self-care retreat for physicians that has run annually since 2012. Elizabeth lives in Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and 3 children. About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do.  Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy. 

HI Nurse friend, In this expanded follow-up to Episode 224, we go deep on one of the most powerful — and most overlooked — tools in burnout recovery: self-compassion. Not as a soft concept, but as an active, research-supported practice that can literally change your nervous system chemistry. And it's biblically based! In fact, Jesus said it was the second greatest commandment!  In this episode, we cover: The difference between self-love and self-compassion — and why you can have one without the other What Matthew 22:39 actually says about how you are meant to love yourself (the Greek changes everything) The research from Kristin Neff's Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout — including a pilot program with healthcare workers that reduced all three core dimensions of burnout Why your inner critic is keeping your body in fight-or-flight — and how a wise inner coach changes that The one question that is at the heart of every self-compassion practice Ready to go deeper? Book your complimentary stress assessment and get personalized tools you can use — even in the middle of a 12-hour shift. Link below. Shalom Shalom,  Xx, Shan  ……CONNECT…… The STAT Protocol: 5 min Nervous system Reset + Mental Shift for Burnt Out                   Nurses (free gift) Take the Free QUIZ-  Are you in burnout or just stressed??

Overwhelm can push us to a point where the tools we normally rely on suddenly feel out of reach. In this episode, clinical psychologist and burnout expert Kerry Makin-Byrd discusses her book Start Here: A Practical Guide for the Overwhelmed, created as a simple, step-by-step guide for moments when thinking clearly feels difficult. She explains overwhelm as being outside the “window of tolerance,” when the nervous system moves into overarousal or shutdown, and everyday functioning, like sleep, mood, and decision-making, can be disrupted.Kerry introduces a three-part approach called Soothe, Transcend, Move. The idea is to regulate the body first, then shift perspective with self-compassion, and finally focus on one small action that aligns with your values. Listen and Learn: Kerry's simple illustrated guide for turning overwhelming stress into clear, actionable steps you can actually use in the momentHow overwhelm shows up in your body and mind can look completely different from others and might be quietly sabotaging your focus and energyPracticing small daily skills to train your mind to handle stress more quickly and effortlessly under pressureHow you can instantly calm your body and unlock clearer thinking using a surprising science-based “chill out” practice from the first step of a three-part emotional regulation systemHow Kerr's three-step approach can help you calm your body, shift perspective, and navigate stress more effectivelyReflective support to overcome burnout and compassion fatigue in helping professionsResources:Start Here: A Practical Guide for the Overwhelmed: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781408783221Kerry's Website: https://www.drkerrymakinbyrd.com/ Subscribe for twice-a-month field notes on overwhelm, burnout, and compassion to help you care for yourself and others: https://www.drkerrymakinbyrd.com/contact/#/portal/ Kerr's Podcast, Start Here for Helpers — with Dr Kerry Makin-Byrd: https://starthereforhelpers.substack.com/?ref=drkerrymakinbyrd.com Connect with Kerry on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/drkerrymbhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-makin-byrd-phdhttps://www.facebook.com/DrKerryMakinByrd/https://www.youtube.com/@drkerrymb About Kerry Makin-ByrdDr. Kerry Makin-Byrd is a clinical psychologist and noted burnout and well-being expert who translates science into practical non-fiction. An alum of Penn State, UC San Francisco, and the Palo Alto VA Health Care System/Stanford School of Medicine (affiliated), she was honoured with the Veterans Health Administration's Special Contribution Award for nationally impactful policy work and clinical teaching. A burnout survivor herself, Dr. Kerry is the author of the memoir The Ballad of Burnout. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, she divides her time between writing, providing trauma therapy, and mentoring doctors and therapists. Her favorite types of rest are cold swims with her family and cackling with friends.Related Episodes: 153. Healthcare Professional Wellbeing Abbie Beacham, Kerry Makin-Byrd, and Bernard Chang (Part 1) 154. Healthcare Professional Wellbeing with Abbie Beacham, Kerry Makin-Byrd, and Bernard Chang (Part 2) 338. ACT for Burnout with Debbie 177. Mind-Body Practices for Stress and Overwhelm with Rebekkah LaDyne 75. Mindful Self-Compassion with Christopher Germer 199. Belonging From the Inside Out with Meg McKelvie 211. Subtract with Leidy Klotz73. Essentialism with Greg McKeown See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TRANSCRIPT Gissele: [00:00:00] was Luther King jr. right? Does love have the power to turn an enemy into a friend. We’re creating an inspiring documentary called Courage to Love The Power of Compassion, which explores extraordinary stories of those who have chosen to do the unthinkable, love and forgive even those who are deeply hurtful. Gissele: Through their journeys, we will uncover the profound impact of forgiveness and love, not only on those offering it, but also receiving it. In addition, we’ll hear from experts who will explore where the love and compassion are part of our human nature, and how we can bridge divides with those we disagree with. Gissele: If you’d like to support our film, please go to www M-A-I-T-R-E-C-E-N-T-R e.com/documentary. It’s mitre center.com/documentary Hello and welcome to The Love and Compassion Podcast with Gissele. We believe that love and compassion have the power to heal our lives and our world. [00:01:00] Don’t forget to like and subscribe for more amazing content. Today we’re talking about self-compassion in teenagers. And my guest is Dr. Gissele: Karen Bluth, who’s an associate professor emerita at the University of North Carolina, where she studies how mindful self-compassion improves the mental health of teens and young adults. She’s the author of five books for teens and caregivers, including The Self-Compassion Workbook for Teens and Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens in Schools. Gissele: In addition, she’s a 2022 recipient of the Inaugural Mind and Life Foundation Award for Public Communication of Contemplative Research. Yay. As a mindfulness practitioner for over 45 years, a mindfulness teacher and an educator with over 18 years of classroom teaching experience, Dr. Bluth frequently gives, talks conducts workshops, and teaches classes in self-compassion in educational and community settings and trains [00:02:00] teachers in mindful self-compassion for teens internationally. Gissele: Please join me in welcoming Dr. Karen Bluth. Hi, Karen. Karen: Hi. It’s well. It’s my pleasure to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me. Gissele: Oh, thank you so much for coming. I think this is a topic that it’s definitely needs to be discussed, and as a mother of two teens, I know the need for self-compassion. I was wondering if you could tell the audience a little bit about how you got started in this work. Karen: Sure. Well it really takes me back to my teen years. I was in high school, it, I was a senior in high school. It was 1975 and I needed. A topic for an independent study project that I had to do for my English class. and it was due the next day. I was driving down the road. I didn’t have my topic of course. Karen: I was driving down the road and outta the corner of my eye, I saw a sign that said something about meditation. Tm at that ti at that time it was transcendental meditation. It still [00:03:00] is actually, but I remembered hearing something about meditation in a different class in my social studies class. And there was something about it when we talked about it in that social studies class that resonated with me. Karen: And I remember thinking, Hmm, that makes sense. So when I saw that sign out of the corner of my eye, I thought, oh, well, let me check this out. So I pulled in. It was this old house I remember, and I went in and I picked up some brochures about transcendental meditation. And talked to the people there and they said, well if you want to be initiated, and I think that was the word they used, come back Saturday at 10 o’clock, I think they said, bring flowers and a piece of fruit. Karen: So it sounded very mysterious to me, but I did, I went back and, and was given a mantra at that time, and that was the beginning of my meditation practice. And you know, I practiced for my senior year in high school. I think when I went to college, it kind of fell away [00:04:00] for a couple of years. And then I got back into it after college and have been practicing meditation, mindfulness since you know, probably the mid eighties. Karen: Regularly. It’s been a cornerstone, an anchor throughout my entire adult life. As I’m sure as I’m sure you know, it has been for, for many people. I, I was very lucky to start early on. And then sometime in the nineties I had little kids and so I spent a fair amount of time in my car with them, in their car seats, trying to get them to nap because they wouldn’t nap at home. Karen: Yeah, I imagine there’s a lot of people that, that resonate with this. And so I had a cassette tape at that time. That’s what we used in our cars of poetry of self-compassion read by the British poet, David White. And this cassette tape had been passed around my meditation group [00:05:00] and so I had this copy and I listened to these poems and. Karen: I think I internalized the message a lot because it was in my car stereo for quite some time. And so this message of self-compassion became really integrated into into, you know, how I spoke to myself. And then about a decade later, I decided to go back to school and get my PhD and I wanted to bring together the different threads of my life. Karen: So that was my personal life, my mindfulness practice Gissele: mm-hmm. Karen: And this whole time I was, I was teaching in schools. I was a teacher and middle school and upper elementary school, fifth grade, mostly also younger grades, but mostly fifth grade and middle school. And so youth and, and, and being with youth and. Karen: Wanting to improve the lives of youth was [00:06:00] really very central to me and my mission actually. And so I, when, when I went back to school in 2008, I wanted to bring together these different threats of my life, my personal mindfulness practice, and my interest in helping youth. And at that time, it was just a few years after Kristen Neff was publishing her work. Karen: So her first articles, research articles on self-compassion came out in 2003. And so this was five years later. There wasn’t that much published at that time and nothing with teens. And so that’s when I just started diving into the work at that point. So that’s a long, a long story really, but that’s really how, how I came to where I am now. Gissele: It’s wonderful. I love that as the teen, you, it’s like, okay, well I’m gonna be initiated here. I’ll show up with my stuff. Karen: It was like, why not? You know? It was 1975. I was like, you know, whatever. It sounds a little weird. Fruit and flowers and [00:07:00] a mantra, but whatever, you know? Gissele: Mm. Yeah. That’s lovely. I do Kriya yoga and so there, there is like an initiation part of the, the component too, and there’s like the offering. Gissele: So yeah, that I resonated with that. I’m interested to to know what the receptivity is of young people towards self-compassion. And the reason why I ask that is as, as a mother of two teenagers, I know that when I, you know, I emphasized to them the importance of meditation, the importance of loving yourself. Gissele: They understand it, but they don’t always wanna practice what I’m doing. And so they wanna find their own path to loving themselves and being compassionate to themselves. What has been the reception of young people? When you show up to schools Karen: Yeah, of course, of course. So yeah, it’s interesting. Karen: So I hear from parents a lot that there’s, and this is actually, you know, this is the job of teens, is to resist what comes from parents. Gissele: Yeah. Karen: And find their own way, as you said. So this is not [00:08:00] not only is it not a bad thing, it’s actually a good thing that they’re a little bit resistant, a little bit of, Hmm. Karen: I don’t wanna just like take on what you’re handing me. Gissele: Yeah. Karen: So what is the reception? It depends who it’s coming from. So again, if it’s coming from a parent, of course it varies. It depends on the relationship between the parent and the kid. But usually, and I’m making a generalization here, there is Karen: A little bit of resistance, a little bit too, you know, maybe a little bit more than a little bit of resistance. Generally after the first class teens if we don’t push them and we don’t, you know, we, it’s always an invitation to participate in these classes. we’re not heavy handed about it. Karen: We don’t require them. Not that you could anyway, you can’t require somebody to do these practices, right? Gissele: Yeah. Karen: We just invite them in, but we don’t you know, we’re not heavy handed. We invite them in and if [00:09:00] we approach it that way the resistance decreases a lot. And you know, the teens might be quiet, but they’re taking it in. Karen: And I have to tell you that. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard from teens at the end of a class teens will pull me aside and say something like, you know, this was really my mom’s idea to take this class, or, this was my therapist’s idea. I didn’t really wanna do it, but I’m so glad I did. Karen: I frequently hear that. You know, this is the nature of the beast, you know, this is what, this is what teens are supposed to be doing. They’re supposed to be questioning, they’re supposed to be particularly questioning what comes on, you know, what the adults around them are saying to them. Gissele: I agree with you. I think it’s a developmental stage, right? Because we’re constantly trying to improve, what our parents did be better, be different, if we only just accepted the status quo , I don’t think there’d be progress . I’m curious [00:10:00] as to what some of the outcomes you have seen What are some of the things that you have found have helped, maybe some of the things that maybe weren’t as successful? Karen: Yeah. So well first of all, we know from research that teens who are more self-compassionate experience less depression, anxiety, and stress. For example, we know that as teens progress through adolescence, they tend to become more depressed. Karen: And that’s mostly driven by females. And that, that when teens are more self-compassionate, they’re less likely to get depressed as they move through the teen years. So we see that. We also know that stress is linked to depression, but we know that teens who are more self-compassionate, when they’re stressed, they’re less likely to be depressed. Karen: We also know that depression is linked to self-injury non-suicidal self-injury, things like cutting. But teens who are more self-compassionate are less likely to [00:11:00] self-injure when they’re depressed. so we see across many studies in many different places all over the world, we see that self-compassion actually acts as a protective factor or a buffer against. Karen: Some of these difficult challenges in the teen years. And we also know when we actually teach teens self-compassion through these different through our mindful self-compassion for teens course and workshops and things like that, we see that teens at the end experience less depression than they did at the beginning. Karen: Less anxiety, less stress. And in our most recent study with teens who had some suicidal ideation going in, that they had significantly less suicidal ideation at the end of the study. Gissele: That’s really, really powerful. I just wanted to clarify. You said driven by females? Gissele: Does that mean that it’s mostly young girls who are experiencing the [00:12:00] depression? Karen: I. Well, what we see is that as girls move from age 11 or 12 to 18 generally they become of course it’s generalization, but overall teen girls become more depressed and by the time they’re 18 or so, 18 or 19, they are twice as likely to be depressed as males of the same age. Karen: And that statistics stays the same stable through adulthood. So, you know, adult women are generally twice as likely to be depressed as adult men. That doesn’t mean that that boys or men aren’t struggling also they are. It’s just that their way of expressing their discontent, dissatisfaction, unhappiness is not through depression. Karen: It’s through other means. Usually external. Usually things like anger comes [00:13:00] out with anger. Gissele: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for that. In this world of COVID, we have young people being more isolated and lonely and with all the school shootings that have happened in America in particular not as much in Canada I’m curious as to the impact of self-compassion on improving relationships for young people. Gissele: Does self-compassion work help them in terms of relationships with one another? Karen: Yeah. Well, we do see we do have a study with young adults that shows and these, these were 18 through 30 that shows decrease in loneliness when these young adults were more self-compassionate. I think what we’re seeing it overall is that obviously through COVID, there’s a lot of isolation, loneliness a lot more turning to social media, turning to technology now, AI and, what [00:14:00] social media does unfortunately is exacerbate this sense of comparing oneself with others, right? Mm-hmm. Gissele: Yeah. Karen: And of course, even though we all know, including teens, that what’s posted in social media is not the full picture of somebody’s life. It’s the curated picture of somebody’s life still. Karen: It exacerbates a sense of, I’m not good enough, I’m not worthy. Look at that person there, you know, they have all this great stuff going on in their lives, and I don’t, you know, so self-compassion can be helpful there. And in fact, in our program, we have a social media exercise and what we teach. Karen: Teens is how to be aware of how they’re feeling when they’re engaging with social media. So we don’t tell them social media’s bad, don’t engage in it because first of all, that’s not gonna work. Second of all, as adults, [00:15:00] we engage with social media. You know, it would be hypocritical of us, us to say not to. Karen: So what we do, which I think is a lot more helpful and also empowering to teens, is to teach them to notice what are you feeling when you’re engaging with social media? What’s coming up for you? Are you feeling this sense of, oh, I’m not good enough, or are you feeling lonely or sad? Or maybe you’re feeling excited, maybe you’re feeling connected. Karen: You know, it’s not all bad. So notice what you’re feeling and then make a choice that’s good for you, that’s healthy for you, you know, take care of yourself. So, so, so self-compassion is all about being good to yourself, supporting yourself, standing up for yourself, you know, doing what’s healthy for yourself.[00:16:00] Karen: It’s all of that. So if you’re noticing that, that something is, makes you feel bad, you have the power to limit it or shut it down completely. And whether that’s social media or you know, a toxic relationship with a friend, you know, you can do that also. But so it’s bringing awareness to what you’re feeling when you’re engaging with them. Gissele: I really appreciate that you said this because I think, I don’t wanna underestimate how powerful what you just said is. Because so many of us are so distractible, we have no idea how we’re feeling in our body. And until we’re present in our body, we can’t really understand how we’re treating ourselves. Gissele: And so to allow young people to just notice how they’re feeling about certain things helps them understand, Hey, wait a minute, is this a positive thing for me or a negative thing for me? And makes them more aware about the choices they’re making and therefore they can choose differently, . They might not choose [00:17:00] differently, but it gives them that awareness of like, how am I being impacted by everything? Gissele: And this is really authentically me, Then they can make that choice. They could take their power back. So I think that’s fantastic. Can you share a little bit about some of the other things that you do in your self-compassion program with teens? Like how do you get them to engage? Gissele: ‘Cause I don’t know if I would see a teen just sitting for hours and hours doing meditation. Karen: Sure. Yeah. Well, we don’t ask them to sit for hours and hours, you know, to practice. Karen: First of all, it’s adapted from Kristen Neff and Chris Gerner’s, mindful self-compassion class for adults. The teen class is different in that it does involve it’s much more activity based. it’s developmentally appropriate. So at the beginning of every class and there are eight classes there’s a little bit of art and it could be mindful drawing. Karen: It could be there’s one class which is. My favorite art activity, which involves playing with UBIC, which if you’re not familiar with Ubic, [00:18:00] it’s like the best slime ever. it comes from the Dr. Seuss book, Barnaby and the Ubik. But it’s, it’s just a wonderful substance and it, and it foreshadow something that we do later in the class. Karen: Each art activity foreshadows something that happens in that class. So we have a little bit of art, like 10 minutes of art at the beginning of every class. we emphasize it’s not about creating some beautiful thing that you’re gonna hang on your wall. It’s about just noticing feeling of a pin in your hand or whatever. Karen: You know, so it’s mindful activity. We have a couple of music meditations with the teens, which the teens absolutely love. We play some games. We introduce informal practices. Mostly we introduce some formal practices, but it’s mostly informal practices, which means things that you can do in the moment. Karen: So you’re starting to feel a little stressed. Notice the feeling of your feet on the floor, you know, that point of contact. and that’s because when we [00:19:00] start to feel stressed, we’re generally in our heads, we’re worrying, we’re anxious. Mm-hmm. It’s all going on in our heads. And when we bring attention to something physical, like the sensation of our feet on the floor, it can be very grounding. Karen: So mostly informal practices. So our regular class is an afterschool class, which is eight sessions, 90 minutes. We also have a school version, which is 16 different sessions, which are 45 minutes long each. Karen: And then we also have have what I’m calling drop in sessions. And this is because school counselors have told us that, you know, sometimes they don’t have a big chunk of time with kids. They have only 10 minutes or 15 minutes. So we have these drop in sessions where they could just go ahead into the class, teach this for 10 minutes, and and so they get a little bit of taste of, of what this is about, or, you know, a number of different drop-in sessions. Gissele: Hmm. [00:20:00] Thank you for sharing that. Gissele: I wanted to mention how important art and music and play are in terms of really reconnecting us with ourselves. Gissele: there’s been so much intergenerational trauma in my family and our history that I’ve had to kind of go back to basics and realize how difficult it was for me to play , how difficult it was for me to sit there and be present with myself. Gissele: Even coloring. I tried coloring and I just kind of rushed through it. Like I had an appointment and I’m like, why am I not allowing myself to be in this moment? But those opportunities, art and music, things that in the school system we haven’t always prioritized , I think is really powerful. Karen: yeah. And I think as adults we don’t play enough by any, by any means, you know? And, in fact, when we train teachers in the program we frequently hear from these adult adults that, you know, they wanna do these activities, you know, because they’re fun. [00:21:00] we need to play more, we need to have more fun, just lighthearted, play. Gissele: Yeah. I’m allowing myself to dance more and twirl more, and play more, even though I do it awkwardly. ’cause there’s always this voice in my head that is like, I have to color it perfectly. Gissele: Right? Like, which is weird because I like to think that I’m pretty compassionate with myself. But as I really am stepping up into Being more connected with my inner child, I can see those little tiny things where I’m like, oh, maybe I should have colored this nicer. Maybe this should have been inside the line. Karen: And teens have those voices also, you know, and which is why we emphasize as they’re, as they’re actually doing the art activity, we say at least several times in that 10 minute period, remember, we don’t care what this looks like. This is not about the product. Karen: It’s not about producing some beautiful thing. It’s about simply noticing, noticing what’s [00:22:00] going on. Noticing noticing the sound of the pencil on the paper. You know, is that making a sound? Notice the feeling when your hand is gripping. You know, the, the pencil is, is there a tightness in your hand? You know, so it’s all about that. Karen: It’s all about noticing, feeling, noticing the process, noticing the sensations that are going on as you’re doing the art. So we’re always emphasizing that as as they’re doing the art and even thoughts noticing, you know, you notice any thoughts coming up in your head like, oh, I don’t like this particular part of the drawing, and can you remember? Karen: That’s just a thought. And notice your thought. And as they’re learning more about the mindfulness piece in the class, will, you know, bring in that notice of thought. It’s just a thought. It doesn’t mean it’s a fact. You can let that thought drift away. Gissele: And that is so powerful. Because personally, having done [00:23:00] self-compassion practices is that you’re teaching. Gissele: reconnection . Right. With yourself, with your body, with your being, as a society, we’re so disconnected from ourselves, from other people. And to just even feel like your fingertips in your body and see how tense we are in the thoughts. Gissele: In my own practice, I’m learning to love my fear and focusing on learning to love everything, Even the challenging moments Can I truly love everything in my life or just even if I can’t, can I just accept it? Can I learn to just allow it? Gissele: And it can feel dynamic, right? So I can imagine for teenagers with their hormones that it must be quite the experience. Mm-hmm. Curious as to your perspectives around how teenagers are doing nowadays. Karen: Yeah. What I am seeing is a lot of struggle. It’s a really hard time and that’s what, you know, the statistics that we’re seeing that there’s high levels of [00:24:00] depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Karen: It’s an overwhelming world that we’re living in. I’m working on a book right now with my wonderful colleague, Marissa Knox. And this is a book for young adults and. We haven’t settled on a title yet, but we are bringing in this idea, and this is, you know, throughout the book and it’s about self-compassion for young adults. Karen: But this idea that we are living in an incredibly challenging world right now. Unbelievably challenging in so many ways, on so many levels. And we have to acknowledge that, you know, and we have to acknowledge that, that things are much harder now than they have been in decades past. And, you know, when I was a young adult, it wasn’t easy either. Karen: You know, there was a huge recession. I mean, I graduated from a good university and couldn’t get a job after, and I was waiting tables, you know, it [00:25:00] wasn’t easy then either, but but it’s a lot more difficult now, you know? The economy is, is even harder and rougher now than it was in the eighties when. Karen: Was waiting tables after graduating. And and you know, I have two young adult children and you know, I hear a lot about their lives and their friends’ lives and how hard it’s, I mean, so we have to acknowledge that. I and you know, when I’m teaching young adults and teens I always bring that in, that, you know, this isn’t your fault. Karen: That you feel all all this huge range of difficult emotions. You know, you’re living at a time when, you know things are really hard, politically, economically on the global stage, everything, you know so. To acknowledge that, to put that out there, to have that be the context in which we [00:26:00] then bring in self-compassion and we talk about how, okay, so now knowing that the world is this way, and guess what, for the moment we can’t do anything about it. Karen: We can in the long run, yes. And we’re working towards that, but right now, in the moment, we’re stuck with it. So how can we take care of ourselves? How can we support ourselves knowing that it’s rough right now and it may not be our fault that we can’t get a job or feel safe in our schools or, Gissele: yeah. Karen: All of that. Gissele: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I think acknowledging is sort of the first step towards saying, okay, where is my power in this moment?Because I think it’s one of the conversations I had with my students is like, you know, in the time when you might feel so powerless, where do you have power? Even if it’s just in terms of how you determine how you feel about the situation. Gissele: Are you gonna let the situation sink you [00:27:00] down and lead you to further depression, Or are you going to choose to say. I’m gonna choose to be kind to myself. I’m gonna choose to do the best I can. I’m gonna choose to allow and do in the moment what I can. And then, you know, if I make a mistake or a trip over over the same rock, I’m gonna pick myself up and keep going. Gissele: Like, or if I can’t, I can’t. Right? So how do we practice that ’cause there’s an element of me that believes that part of the reason why we are in the situation we are in terms of the world, is because of a disconnection, because of a lack of self-compassion and self-love. Gissele: There’s a lack of love in the world in general. And we keep thinking that the way that we’re gonna approach it is have more money and be more successful and do all of these things, but it just breeds separation. Which leads to my next question of how can self-compassion help us create community? Karen: Ah, yeah, so that’s a great [00:28:00] question. Karen: Because of course, as we know, community is absolutely vital. Having community is vital. So I think you know, the first thing that comes to mind is that when we’re more self-compassionate we have less fear of failure because we know we’re not gonna beat ourselves up when we fail. If we fail at something, we’re just gonna say, you know, well, you know, it doesn’t mean I’m a bad person. Karen: It just means like, that didn’t work for me in, in that particular moment. How this applies to community is that we’re more likely to reach out to others, right? So if we’re not so afraid that of getting rejected by others, we’re more likely to make an attempt move out of our comfort zone and reach out and engage in a conversation with. Karen: Somebody we don’t know, for example, we’re more likely to join a community group or, you know, in the case [00:29:00] of teens, you know, sign up for some new sport or music class or whatever to engage with others more and develop that community when we’re feeling so unqualified, unworthy not enough, we’re much more likely to isolate. Karen: And so in that way you know, obviously that’s how community develops is, where we’re able to reach out and en engage with others in, you know, all different ways. Gissele: Mm. Yeah. And the other thing I found in, especially in my self-compassion practice has been that it’s led me to be more authentically myself. Gissele: Mm-hmm. And you can’t really, you can’t really allow yourself to be seen and to be loved and to find your people if you are not allowing yourself to be authentically yourself or to be vulnerable . And so I think that’s a really key aspect of self-compassion, ’cause that’s really what primarily young people want. Gissele: They just wanna be authentically themselves. But we hear all these [00:30:00] messages. I know, I heard them growing up. You know, all about how we have to look a certain way. We have to be a certain way. There’s a right answer to everything. Gissele: and so I think that’s the beauty of self-compassion, is the allowing of multiple perspectives is the allowing of differences in the discomfort. Karen: when you were talking about that, what I was thinking about was in our our teen class, we have a session where teens have the opportunity to really reflect on their core values, and we take them through a particular activity to do this so that they’re thinking about what’s really important to me, what do I really value? Karen: You know how do I wanna live my life and what are the things I wanna let go of, you know? Mm-hmm. So it’s not a conclusive activity where they get to the end and they say, okay, this is what I want. You know? But it’s an opportunity for them to really take a few moments to think about and to reflect on, you know, what do I wanna keep [00:31:00] in my life? Karen: What do I want to hold onto? What do I value and what do I, maybe wanna think about letting go of? It’s just the beginning of that conversation with themselves. Gissele: Hmm. And I love that ’cause I’ve had to do this later in my life, realizing that the things I wanted to have were based on somebody else’s perspective of what they thought I should have. Gissele: And I, I went through a really stripping of like, who am I really? And again, I, this is older, right? Like, who am I really, what do I really love? What do I really wanna do? What do I really want my life to look like? And it’s not anything that I would’ve thought would’ve fit the picture, like it’s not. Gissele: Mm-hmm. But it’s so much better . It’s so much greater, it’s so much more me. Karen: Mm-hmm. Gissele: I was curious as to whether in the program there are elements of how to deal with conflict with one another Karen: Yeah. Well we do have a session activity where we talk about conflict with parents. Mm. And, Gissele: mm-hmm. Karen: Why, first of all, [00:32:00] why that occurs. So, you know, why is that happening? And we talk about the developmental stage and the brain changes and we show this video clip actually from the movie Crudes. Karen: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, there’s a teen in there and she’s having a conflict with her dad. And the dad just wants to keep her safe and isolated and in the cave, and she wants to go out and explore. And we talk about how the dad is doing what he’s supposed to be doing, and the teen is doing what she’s supposed to be doing. Karen: Neither one of them is wrong. And yet conflict ensues because they have different objectives and what can you do when conflict ensues when this happens? And so first of all, just having that awareness that, this dad’s not trying to be mean and horrible. Karen: He’s just trying to keep his kids safe. And sort of having that awareness and then how self-compassion can support you because when you’re [00:33:00] supporting yourself in that way, you can add through mindfulness also. You can regulate your emotions and which is the first step, you know? Karen: Well awareness is the first step. That would be the second step. And then get to a place where you can actually. Talk about what’s going on and acknowledge what the other person wants and needs also. Gissele: Hmm. Yeah. I I love that you brought the movie up, the crudes. ’cause what I, remember you know, they both the daughter and the father push each other, right? Gissele: they push each other to grow and learn. And I wanted to emphasize as well for my listeners about something that you just said, which is really important, which is dealing with Gissele: conflict. the first part is always awareness. It’s like awareness of how am I feeling? What am I, what am I thinking? You know, what’s happening in my body. And the second one is being able to hold space for those difficult feelings , right? Validating our feelings, holding space for those difficult feelings, having compassion for ourselves so that then we can have [00:34:00] compassion for other people’s, even if their perspective’s completely different, like differ from our own. Gissele: And so I think that’s the, the beauty of self-compassion is that it helps us have compassion for ourselves and other people. Sometimes the, as they called the disliked person, mm-hmm. But it really does start with the awareness because I feel like we don’t really know how to have conversations with people anymore. Gissele: There’s like this global canceling that happens because I think we are just so overwhelmed by our own emotions and we haven’t really been. At least some generations haven’t really been taught the social emotional part of, regulating our emotions so that we can then do the work of listening. Gissele: And you know, when I think about listening, I think about the work of Valerie Kaur who talks about revolutionary love. And she says, you know, listening, if you’re truly listening, you have to be willing to change Mm-hmm. Karen: Mm-hmm. Gissele: And that that’s can feel difficult. [00:35:00] It can, Karen: yeah. Karen: I think that’s, I I think you hit on a really important and very big issue which is that there isn’t a lot of listening going on. You know, there really isn’t. You know, there might be people sitting there waiting for the other person to finish talking so that they can say their piece. Right? Gissele: Yeah. Karen: But, of course, when you’re really listening, that’s not what’s going on. When you’re really listening, you’re open and willing to change your mind. So yes, that’s certainly part of this whole, you know, the program at the very beginning, in our first class, we have a piece called Community Agreements where we all agree on how the class is going to proceed. Karen: And one of the things is deep listening. Really listening, without that judging voice, you know, put that judging voice aside as much as possible. [00:36:00] Gissele: And that takes practice. Karen: Yes, Gissele: it does. Karen: It absolutely does. Gissele: often we go straight to judgment instead of professing observations. The other thing I wanted to mention was listening to the voices of young people is so important, which is why I think also your work is so phenomenal . Historically, we have not viewed young people’s voices as important as adult voices, or especially the voices of, of young children. Gissele: What are your thoughts about our ability to be able to listen to young people and collaborate with them in a way that makes them feel involved? ’cause I know I, that’s, I didn’t feel that way when I was young. Gissele: Young people were not invited to sit at the table with the adults to talk about adult things and talk about the world, How can we, emphasize more listening to young people? Karen: Yeah. It’s interesting. I too remember being a teen and clearly thinking, you know what, I know what I’m talking about here. Karen: I have ideas. Gissele: Yeah. Karen: You know, [00:37:00] and I actually did have the opportunity as a teen to be on an adult board of, mm-hmm. Of a nonprofit organization. It was a theater organization that we were involved with. and it was a great opportunity, we need to hear teen’s, voices, you know, we need to hear what they have to say. Karen: That doesn’t mean thatwe’re going to make decisions based on everything that they say or, because obviously we’ve been on the planet for longer and we have a certain amount of wisdom coming from our experience, but truly they know what they need and giving them the opportunity to talk about it and to express it and to listen. Karen: You know, I think what teens want more than anything is really to be listened to. Is to be heard. And maybe that’s what we all want more than every [00:38:00] anything is to be heard. Right. Particularly in the teen years, it’s really the first time when they are aware that they have some opinions and values and things to contribute to the conversation. Karen: And as adults I think it’s our responsibility to listen and to hear their input Gissele: Yeah. Karen: As much as we can again, that doesn’t mean we’re gonna make decisions based on, what they suggest. I remember my daughter as a 15-year-old, went through a stage where she just felt like she didn’t need to wear her seatbelt in the car. Karen: And I was like that’s not happening. Like, now I Gissele: got Karen: this. Nope. Gissele: Yeah. Karen: No. Gissele: Mm-hmm. Karen: So it doesn’t, you know, it doesn’t mean we go with everything that they, that they wanna do by any stretch, but, but to listen, I think is important. Gissele: Yeah. And they, that’s a great example. I’m curious as to her perspective as to why she felt in [00:39:00] that moment she didn’t need seat belts anymore. Karen: You know, I can ask her. I don’t remember. I think she was just exercising herperceived right. as an individual, you know? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Obviously when it comes to safety, you know, we have to, Gissele: there’s a history there as to how we got seat belts. Gissele: Yeah. And so engaging in that conversation as you were talking, I was thinking about the generations and how sometimes it’s difficult for parents to hear the perspectives of their young people. if it, ignites shame and guilt, right. I’ve had conversations with my parents about the impact of my childhood and there’s been lots of like deflecting because it was difficult for them to hold some of these things that I was claiming. Gissele: And I’ve been on the other end as well in terms of like my children when they say stuff and you’re like, I hurt you. And so being able to apologize for me has been really important as a parent to emphasize to my kids that I’m not perfect. You know, we’re, Karen: we’re winging it out here [00:40:00] Gissele: and, and how much forgiveness and how much apologizing needs to happen and how much communication needs to happen when mistakes are made on both sides, right? Gissele: Mm-hmm. And how sometimes those mistakes and those conversations bring us closer together . But I can relate to my parents’ experience ’cause we all wanna be. At least from my perspective, I wanna be a good mom. I wanna be a loving parent. I wanna be the best parent that I can be. Gissele: And sometimes despite your best intense, you make mistakes. you hurt them. you do things like maybe that are based on your own fear. And so I find the practice of self-compassion really helps me be kind to myself and so that I can listen to that feedback and say, you know what? Gissele: I’m gonna sit with this. But it can feel difficult. Gissele: self-compassion really helped me sit with those difficult feelings because I wasn’t judging myself. A bad parent. Karen: yeah. You know, I think being a parent has been so good for my self and compassion practice just because of [00:41:00] everything that you said. Karen: My daughters are now 31 and 33, and you know, of course I made lots and lots of mistakes, I was one of those moms that I prioritized being a good mom. It was so important to me, you know, to be a good mom. And yet I made mistakes. And recently even I, maybe, I don’t know, six, eight months ago I was talking to my older daughter and there was something that I did when she was a teen that I felt, you know, I wish I could have. Karen: Not done what I did. And I felt really bad about what I did. And I, you know, I was talking to her about it and I said, I’m so sorry that I, put my foot down. I know what you really needed was a big hug. I wish I had, you know, done it differently. And she said, you know, mom, don’t worry about it. Karen: You can let that go. You know, I’m fine, But it helped me, first of all to be able to say that. And I think I was able to say that part at least in part, if not, [00:42:00] if not solely because of my self-compassion practice. And I think part of what self-compassion does for us is, is to remind us that we don’t have to be perfect and we’re not going to be any way. Karen: We’re not going to be perfect. We’re gonna make mistakes. So can we forgive ourselves? Gissele: Yeah. Karen: When we make mistakes, you know? And then if we can, and if it’s appropriate or if we want to or whatever, go to that person, you know, like go to our kid and say, look, I am really sorry that I did that and at the time I thought that was best. Karen: And now I see that’s not what you needed. Yeah. And I’m really sorry. Gissele: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It’s, it’s so interesting, and I think it’s important for us to have this conversation for two reasons. Number one is we think we have to be perfect at being compassionate or none at all. Gissele: none of us are perfect. And I think that’s the problem . We expect ourselves to be truly compassionate, the pinnacle of love [00:43:00] and really just, can you just be a little bit better than yesterday? That’s all that requires. Can you be a little bit more loving? Can you be a little bit more kind? Gissele: That’s all that is really required. And the second thing, which I think you emphasize, which is so important, It’s that we think that being compassionate, it’s gonna be like, well, I’m just gonna, allow my crappy behavior. It is so difficult to be loving and compassionate towards yourself when you don’t feel you deserve it. And what I found in my own practice is it actually enabled me to sit. More. Gissele: With all those aspects that I didn’t like about myself, the more that I was compassionate with myself, I didn’t let myself off the hook, I was able to see how my behavior could have been hurtful , was able to see how there was times when I wasn’t living my values, but if I hadn’t been compassionate, I would’ve deflected. Gissele: I would’ve like invalidated. I would’ve been like, no, no. It’s their problem. It’s not me. And so this is why the practice of compassion is so important, especially starting younger. [00:44:00] So a few more questions. I say youngest that you have done work on it. And are there groups that are helping our, really young people practice compassion? Karen: Yeah, absolutely. So I work with teens and as young as 11 or so. Gissele: Mm. Karen: There are people who work with younger, with younger kids. My colleague Jamie Lynn Tartera works with kids age about seven to 10 or so. And then my colleague Catherine Lovewell in the UK works with kids who are younger and she has a wonderful book out and stuffed animals and and all this really wonderful wonderful stuff for younger kids. Karen: And it’s just adorable. I have some of her things right here. I know you’re not gonna be able to see it over audio, but some of her, so these are her [00:45:00] stuffies that go with her, with her. I like Gissele: the rainbow one. Karen: Yeah. Well, this is actually, so her book is about the inner critic and Yeah, this is Crusher, which is your inner critic, and this is Booster. Karen: Who is your self-compassionate. So the Rainbow Guide is, oh, that’s beautiful, but she just has an unbelievably wonderful program. So yes, there are people working with younger kids and yeah, it’s so important to start early. Gissele: Thanks. Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah. But I absolutely appreciate that you’re working with teens ’cause that can be a difficult population, but definitely, definitely needed. Gissele: I think sometimes we make it more acceptable to do those kinds of things, like self-compassion, self-kindness practices with young kids, and then for some reason it just kind of drops off the face of the earth and we’re not continuing that practice. So I think it’s wonderful that you are doing that work. Gissele: Two more questions. I’m asking all of my, guests what their definition of self-love is. Karen: Definition of [00:46:00] self-love accepting yourself for who you are. Gissele: Mm-hmm. Karen: With all your so-called challenges and securities. Because really that’s, that’s what makes us who we are, is the whole package. Karen: You know, the things we like about ourselves and the things we’re not as comfortable with about ourselves and when we can. And you used this word earlier, which I think is, is really great. Allow the word allow when we can allow those parts of ourselves to be there, to be present and to accept them. Karen: Say, you know what, you know, I’m not the most patient person in the world. I know that about myself. And you know what? It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m not gonna be perfect and I’m not gonna be good at everything. I. And that’s okay. It’s okay not to be good at everything. So I, you know, my definition of self-love would be [00:47:00] just to, you know, be able to allow all those parts of your, of yourself, you know, to be present and to be there and maybe eventually move towards embracing them. Gissele: Hmm. I love that. So last question. Where can people work with you? Where can they find you? Where can they find your books? Please share. Karen: there’s two websites. There’s my website, which is my name http://www.karenbluth.com. And so you’ll find out about me about my work. On that website, we have a new website, which I really would like to promote. Karen: it’s a website, for teens teens, and that’s http://www.self-compassionforteens.org. And self-compassion is hyphenated. And so that is a recent website that we’ve just launched in the last couple of months which has all kinds of resources for teens, videos, short videos about explaining what self-compassion [00:48:00] is, you know, what the inner critic is, how can we deal with the inner critic. Karen: There’s there’s a quiz on there. See how self-compassionate you are. There’s video, there’s some videos that. Teams who have learned taken our courses, have talked about their experience with self-compassion. And then there’s section about taking a deeper dive. Anyway, I really would like teens everywhere to, to know about this website and have access to it. Karen: And it’s a great place to start to learn about how to be nicer to yourself. Gissele: Beautiful. There’ll be a link on our site. So thank you very much, Karen, for coming on the show and sharing your wisdom with us and for the work that you’re doing, which is so, so important and so needed at this time. And thank you for everyone that tuned into another episode of Love and Compassion Podcast with Gissele. Gissele: See you soon.

Dr. Kristin Neff, pioneering self-compassion researcher, author, and teacher, talks about the power and benefits of practicing self-compassion as parents to differently wired children. In our conversation, Kristin shares what she has learned about self-compassion, both through her research and her own experiences parenting an autistic child. She goes deep into what self-compassion really looks like,  why we are often more compassionate to others than ourselves, and shares some strategies for strengthening that self-compassion muscle both for ourselves and our kids.  ABOUT DR. NEFF Kristin Neff is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion over fifteen years ago. She has co-developed an empirically supported training program called Mindful Self-Compassion, and is author of the books Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, and Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program: A Guide for Professionals.   THINGS YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE: How Dr. Neff got into the work of self-compassion research What it looks like to practice self-compassion Why we judge ourselves so harshly and what keeps us from being a better self-friend What it means to practice self-comfort Strategies parents can use to accept and BE with their suffering How to teach kids and teens about self-compassion   RESOURCES MENTIONED:  Dr. Kristin Neff's website Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Dr. Kristin Neff The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook:  A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive by Kristin Neff:  Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program: A Guide for Professionals by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn to meet your struggles with kindness through this gentle meditation developed by Chris Germer and Kristin Neff. This practice guides you through working with a moderately stressful situation in your life, whether it's a health concern, relationship difficulty, or work pressure, using the three pillars of self-compassion: mindfulness, common humanity, and self-kindness.

Vielleicht bist du in der Balloon-App oder beim Meditieren schon einmal über MSC-Übungen gestolpert. Hinter diesen Buchstaben verbirgt sich „Mindful Self-Compassion“, zu Deutsch „achtsames Selbstmitgefühl“. In dieser Folge erfährst du, warum diese Übungspraxis so unterstützend ist. Sinja und Cäcilia erklären dir die Kernkomponenten von MSC, den typischen Ablauf eines MSC-Kurses und die Unterschiede zum Konzept von MBSR.Höre jetzt rein und finde heraus, welche positiven Auswirkungen MSC auf dein Leben haben kann!Umfrage: Wie gefällt dir Verstehen, fühlen, glücklich sein? Erzähle es uns ⁠⁠⁠⁠hier⁠⁠⁠⁠.Hintergründe und Studien:Die Studien und Hintergründen findest du in Kürze hier.

Wer nach einer Affäre von inneren Bildern überrollt wird, erlebt selten „nur Gedanken“. Es fühlt sich eher an wie ein Film, der ohne Erlaubnis startet. Wir sprechen in der Folge darüber, was psychologisch dahinter steckt und mit welchen konkreten Übungen man das Kopfkino verhindern kann.Wenn du mich und den Podcast unterstützen möchtest, dann bewerte den Podcast gerne und schicke ihn an jemanden weiter, der sich auch dafür interessieren würde. Mein neues Buch hilft dir besser zu kommunizieren, deine Muster zu verändern und wieder Nähe herzustellen. Du hast Feedback oder Fragen? Dann schreib mir auf Instagram.Du möchtest eine persönliche (Online)Beratung oder Paartherapie mit mir? Dann schreib mir eine Mail an: kontakt@paartherapiebonn.com.Mehr zu mir und meiner Arbeit findest du ⁠⁠hier⁠⁠.Studien zum Thema: Baucom, D. H., Snyder, D. K., & Gordon, K. C. (2006). Treating affair couples: Clinical considerations and initial findings. (PDF verfügbar über Facharchive).Ehlers, A., & Clark, D. M. (2000). A cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38(4), 319–345.Gordon, K. C., Baucom, D. H., & Snyder, D. K. (2005). Treating couples recovering from infidelity: An integrative approach. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(11), 1393–1405.Hagenaars, M. A., & Arntz, A. (2012). Reduced intrusion development after post-trauma imagery rescripting: An experimental study. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 43(2), 808–814.Holmes, E. A., James, E. L., Coode-Bate, T., & Deeprose, C. (2009). Can playing the computer game “Tetris” reduce the build-up of flashbacks for trauma? A proposal from cognitive science. PLoS ONE, 4(1), e4153.Mikulincer, M., Gillath, O., & Shaver, P. R. (2002). Activation of the attachment system in adulthood: Threat-related primes increase the accessibility of mental representations of attachment figures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.Neff, K. D., & Germer, C. K. (2013). A pilot study and randomized controlled trial of the Mindful Self-Compassion program. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(1), 28–44.Roos, L. G., O'Connor, R., Canevello, A., & Bennett, J. M. (2019). Post-traumatic stress and psychological health following infidelity in unmarried young adults. Stress and Health.Ritchie, T. D., et al. (2025). Unpacking trust repair in couples: A systematic literature review. Journal of Family Theory & Review.Wegner, D. M., Schneider, D. J., Carter, S. R., & White, T. L. (1987). Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(1), 5–13.Zhang, X., et al. (2025). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on rumination: A meta-analysis. BMC Psychology.

Dr. Marisa T. Mazza is a clinical psychologist and founder of choicetherapy psychological services, inc.  Dr. Mazza is passionate about providing evidence-based therapies, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure and Response Prevention, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindful Self-Compassion, to teens and adults struggling with OCD or Anxiety. She enjoys supporting individuals in learning new ways of interacting with thoughts and feelings. Her approach allows individuals to face their fears in a gradual and gentle way so they can get unstuck from thoughts and feelings and live meaningful lives. Dr. Mazza was formerly a board member of OCD SF Bay Area, the International OCD Foundation's local affiliate, and was the Vice President of the San Francisco Bay Area Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. She is also the author of The ACT Workbook for OCD which we discuss at points throughout this episode.Some of the topics we explore in this episode include:-Marisa's history of anxiety challenges -How it has helped her grow and be connected to values as a clinician-The role that shame plays in anxiety and OCD challenges-Common OCD related challenges faced postpartum-What lead to Marisa writing The ACT Workbook for OCD-How to use ACT skills and exposure exercises flexibly in specific contexts—————————————————————————Marisa's website: https://www.choicetherapy.net/The ACT Workbook for OCD: https://a.co/d/4QBveqc—————————————————————————Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible:Sign up for PsychFlex through the Mentally Flexible link! PsychFlex.com/MentallyFlexibleYou can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexiblePlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truthCheck out my new album, Holding Space! https://open.spotify.com/album/0iOcjZQhmAhYtjjq3CTpwQ?si=nemiLnELTsGGExjfy8B6iw

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.comI'm joined by Dr. Regina Lazarovich, a clinical psychologist, Health at Every Size (HAES)–aligned provider, and someone with lived experience of binge eating and perfectionism. Together, we unpack the lesser-discussed connection between high achievement, perfectionism, and binge eating, and how shame and restriction can keep us stuck in painful cycles with food.Tune in as a paid subscriber for more on:*The connection between perfectionism and binge eating — and why it's rarely talked about.*Why restriction (mental, emotional, and physical) often drives binge eating, not “lack of willpower.”*Regina's story of developing binge eating disorder amid academic and cultural pressures.*The shame cycle: how guilt after binge eating fuels renewed restriction and perfectionistic resolve.*Why binge eating is a protective response from the body — not a personal failure.*The impact of immigrant identity, family expectations, and internalized achievement pressure on self-worth and body image.*The moral hierarchy of eating disorders — and how fatphobia shapes which struggles get compassion.*Tangible ways to interrupt the binge–restrict cycle and begin to bring compassion to our relationship with food.*Approaching binge eating through a body-trusting, HAES-aligned lens.This is a bonus episode for paid Substack subscribers. Paid members receive:*Extra full-length conversations like this one*Bonus in-depth essays on body image, food, and movement*Access to the entire archive of paywalled episodes and newsletters*Deeper, more personal reflections and behind-the-scenes insightsSupport the show: Enjoying this podcast? Please support the show on Substack for bonus episodes, community engagement, and access to "Ask Abbie" at abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribeApply for Abbie's Group Membership:Already been at this anti-diet culture thing for a while, but want community and continued learning? Apply for Abbie's monthly membership: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/circle-monthly-groupSocial media:Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcastFind Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellnessPodcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroyPodcast Editing by Brian WaltersThis podcast is ad-free and support comes from your support on Substack. Subscribe HERE.About Regina: Dr. Regina Lazarovich, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, trained teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion, and the founder of the private practice Compass CBT, serving clients across California, New York, and Florida. Dr. Lazarovich has dedicated her fifteen-year career to helping individuals break free from anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, disordered eating, binge eating disorder, body image struggles, people-pleasing, and perfectionism.With a wealth of expertise in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Dr. Lazarovich approaches each client's mental health journey with kindness and understanding. As a Health at Every Size (HAES®) aligned therapist, she wholeheartedly believes that every body deserves care, compassion, and respect.

Danny O'Connor is a U.S. Olympian, WBC International Champion, and two time National Amateur Champion with an elite professional boxing record of 31-3. A former top-ranked contender, Danny has competed on the world stage for nearly two decades, fighting on major networks like Showtime, ESPN, CBS Sports, and Fox Sports 1. He represented Team USA on the 2008 Olympic Boxing Team and has been a dominant force in the ring as both a U.S. Nationals Champion and multi-time international competitor. Beyond the ropes, Danny's commitment to trauma-informed care and youth advocacy is reflected in his certifications in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), his training in Chris Germer's Mindful Self-Compassion, and completion of the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program. As a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), he has directly supported youth navigating the foster care and judicial systems. Drawing from his lived experience, Danny and his wife Diane co-founded DO Boxing Academy, a groundbreaking mobile, non-contact fitness boxing program rooted in a whole-child approach to development. The program fosters social, emotional, mental, and physical growth through a proprietary blend of boxing fundamentals, mindfulness practices, yoga, and trauma-informed curriculum developed in collaboration with licensed mental health clinicians. DO Boxing Academy partners with organizations to deliver on-site enrichment programming, with a focus on serving at-risk and underserved youth. The academy has been successfully implemented in a wide range of settings, including nonprofits, youth residential detention centers, adolescent substance abuse treatment facilities, and is currently operating within the public school system. By combining movement, mentorship, and mental health education, DO Boxing Academy is designed to break cycles of trauma and empower youth with tools for resilience and long-term success.   We discuss topics including: What led to Danny hitting his bottom Realizing that his habits and coping habits/skills were no longer effective The sport of boxing and the weight class he was in Being a very private person Leaving the sport of professional boxing and focusing on treatment of his eating disorder How to support and help other males   SHOW NOTES: www.doboxingacademy.com www.instagram.com/therealdannyoconnor ____________________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: rlgrd@askaboutfood.com You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.

Are you your harshest critic? Dr. Kristin Neff shows how self-compassion is the key to resilience, growth, and high performance. Discover research-backed techniques—mindful awareness, compassionate self-talk, and supportive touch—that help you reduce stress, prevent burnout, and turn setbacks into opportunities. By treating yourself with the same kindness you give others, you can boost focus, emotional strength, and long-term success.Read her book “Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout” to discover science-backed strategies for resilience, emotional balance, and sustainable success that will help you reduce stress, prevent burnout, and thrive even under pressure.

Self-compassion is a powerful, learnable skill in eating disorder recovery. In this conversation with registered social worker, grain farmer, and mom of five, Carrie Pollard, MSW, we explore how compassion lowers shame, supports motivation, and helps people replace harmful coping with kinder, sustainable care. We talk about trauma-informed treatment, somatic awareness, DBT skills, and what self-compassion looks like in real sessions and real life. What You'll Learn What self-compassion really is: noticing suffering and responding to it with care, based on the Mindful Self-Compassion model by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer. Why “the why” matters: exploring roots like trauma and chronic stress helps people understand why symptoms once protected them and how to meet those needs differently. Behavioral tools and deeper work together: how CBT, FBT, and skills work can sit alongside bottom-up, body-based approaches and insight-oriented therapy. Backdraft in self-compassion: why big feelings can surge when kindness finally lands, and how to ride emotional waves safely. Somatic cues and capacity: using body signals, boundaries, and micro-pauses to prevent overload, especially for high-achieving, people-pleasing clients. Rural and farmer mental health: unique barriers to care, higher anxiety and depression in farm communities, and why accessible, virtual support matters. Key Takeaways Self-compassion reduces shame and increases motivation, which supports behavior change in anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, ARFID, and long-term recovery. You can ask two steady questions throughout healing: What am I feeling? and What am I needing? Emotional waves peak and pass. Skills from DBT and mindful self-compassion help you surf them without self-criticism. Recovery grows when systems of care address trauma, body image, diet culture, and access barriers faced by rural, disabled, neurodivergent, and larger-bodied people. Guest Carrie Pollard, MSW is a registered social worker in Ontario, Canada, @compassionate_counsellor. She brings two decades of clinical experience, deep community ties in agriculture, and a trauma-informed lens to eating disorder treatment. She co-founded a national farmer mental health initiative and participates in the Waterloo-Wellington Eating Disorder Coalition. Instagram: @compassionate_counsellor Counseling for Ontario, Canada residents: flourishwithcompassion.com Waterloo-Wellington Eating Disorder Coalition: search the coalition site to find therapists, physicians, and dietitians, plus details for the professional development day on diversifying eating disorder perspectives (happening October 24, 2025). Notable Moments Naming self-compassion backdraft so clients can expect it and feel less afraid. Using hand-over-heart and paced breathing when words are hard. Reframing symptoms as once-useful survival strategies, then building new supports. Embracing imperfection in therapy and life to align with authenticity and values. Who This Episode Supports People in eating disorder recovery who feel stuck in shame or fear that kindness will make them “stop trying.” Clinicians seeking to integrate mindful self-compassion, somatic work, and DBT with behavioral protocols. Rural and farming families who need accessible, culturally aware care options. Neurodivergent folks and anyone navigating sensory overload, perfectionism, or people-pleasing. Resources Mentioned Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer DBT skills for emotion regulation and distress tolerance Waterloo-Wellington Eating Disorder Coalition directory and events Carrie's counseling: flourishwithcompassion.com Instagram: @compassionate_counsellor Related Episodes Self-Compassion in Eating Disorder Recovery with Harriet Frew, MSc @theeatingdisordertherapist_ on Apple & Spotify. Perfectionism & Eating Disorders on Apple & Spotify. Work With Dr. Marianne Miller If you are in California, Texas, or Washington, D.C., I offer therapy for binge eating, ARFID, anorexia, bulimia, OCD, and trauma. Learn more and book a consult at drmariannemiller.com. If ARFID is part of your story or your family's story, explore my self-paced ARFID & Selective Eating Course for practical, neurodivergent-affirming tools. Share This Episode If this conversation helped you, share it with a friend, a clinician, or a family member. Your share helps more people find self-compassionate, trauma-informed eating disorder support.

Mindfulness, Mental Health, and the Cannabis Conundrum In this eye-opening episode, host Mathew Blades explores the complex interplay between mindfulness, mental health, and cannabis use with experts Julie Potiker and Dr. Dave. From the dangers of cannabis-induced psychosis in young people to the transformative power of mindfulness practices, this conversation offers a wealth of insights for anyone looking to improve their mental well-being. Julie, a mindfulness expert and author, shares her journey into mindfulness after a stress-related health scare. She explains how Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindful Self-Compassion techniques have revolutionized her life and how she now teaches these powerful tools to others. Dr. Dave, a psychiatrist, provides valuable medical insights throughout the discussion. Key topics include: • The potential risks of cannabis use for developing brains • How mindfulness practices can combat stress and improve overall health • The SNAP technique for emotional regulation • Balancing medication and mindfulness for mental health management Listeners will come away with practical strategies for incorporating mindfulness into their daily lives, including creating a joy list and practicing gratitude. Whether you're dealing with stress, anxiety, or simply looking to enhance your mental well-being, this episode offers valuable insights and actionable advice. "If you think that taking a pill is going to be enough, you're mistaken," warns Dr. Dave, emphasizing the importance of addressing underlying issues and engaging in positive behaviors. Julie Potter adds, "I'm so powerful. We're so powerful. We're going to be okay," reminding us of our innate capacity for resilience and growth. Follow the podcast:  Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h)  Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM)  Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE)  Connect with Mathew Blades:  Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/  Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/  Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/   Additional Credits: LFPWLI is managed by IMS LLC

Children and adults alike can be their own harshest critics, and our culture often perpetuates this.  But there is a powerful yet underutilized tool called mindful self-compassion. In this episode, we are joined by one of the experts in mindful self-compassion, Jamie Lynn Tatera. Jamie Lynn is a teacher, trainer, author, and the creator the… The post The Power of Mindful Self-Compassion appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.

For June, National Age Without Apology Month, author and mindfulness expert Julie Potiker shares how practicing mindful self-compassion can help people be less critical and more accepting of themselves as they get older. Read on for details and information on booking her on your program! Make Peace With Your Older Self: Be Mindful of Self-Talk Around Aging Practicing mindfulness can protect our health and improve our quality of life as we age, research finds. Practicing mindful self-compassion can also help us be more accepting and less critical of ourselves and our appearance as we age, Julie says. “We owe it to ourselves to be mindful of our self-talk around aging and to give ourselves the gift of making peace with the aging process,” Julie says. A Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher from the University of California, San Diego, Julie is author of “SNAP! From Chaos to Calm and creator of SNAP, a simple four-step process anyone can use to calm anxiety, worry, and other troubling emotions. This includes negative self-talk — what Julie calls our “inner critic” — that tells us we are old and/or out of shape when we look in the mirror. Sound familiar? Try this: Soothing touch: Place your hands where you find it soothing, as a reminder that it's hard to feel this way; you are giving yourself love, and the relief of oxytocin and endorphins being released will help calm your nervous system. I place both hands on my heart, but feel free to find whatever point works for you. Name the emotion: Sometimes this is a tangled mess, so see whether you can tease it apart. It might be embarrassment, shame, an icky feeling of vulnerability, or it could be sadness. Name it to tame it — so it's out in the open and you can work with it. Act: Ask yourself these two questions: 1. What do I need to hear right now? Then tell it to yourself. 2. What do I need to do right now to shift my mood? Then choose what you can reasonably do in that moment. This could be positive self-talk, loving kindness phrases, or gratitude practice — anything to make a shift so that you feel the truth that you are enough just as you are in this moment. Praise: By being loving to yourself, as you would be to a dear friend, you are bathing yourself in compassion. You deserve it. “What you think changes your brain,” Julie says. “If you talk to yourself with gentleness and compassion and you take a couple of moments to savor the good feelings your compassionate voice brings up in you, that positive mental state rewires your brain. It is a simple practice with profound results.” If you would like to speak with Julie, contact me: Klaudia Simon Media Booker | WasabiPublicity.com 828.749.3200 east coast office | 828.817.4034 mobile klaudia@wasabipublicity.com Online Media Kit: JuliePotiker.OnlinePressKit247.com Public Site: MindfulMethodsForLife.com About Julie Potiker: Julie Potiker is a mindfulness expert with extensive certifications and teacher training in a variety of tools and methods, including Mindful Self-Compassion. Her new book is “SNAP! From Chaos to Calm.” Through her Mindful Methods for Life program offerings, Julie helps others bring more peace and wellness into their lives. Julie's first book, “Life Falls Apart, but You Don't Have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos," is now available on audiobook. Learn more at MindfulMethodsForLife.com.

Come Back to Love® Radio: Fierce Self-Compassion: The Bold Path to Healing and Empowerment Guest: Laura Shakun PsyD, Trained Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher and Psychologist In this powerful and heart-opening episode of Come Back to Love, Robyn Vogel welcomes Laura Shakun, a devoted teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), for an illuminating conversation on the transformative practice of Fierce Self-Compassion. Together, they explore how fierce self-compassion invites us not only to soothe and comfort ourselves—but also to protect, provide, and motivate with clarity and courage. Laura shares how this essential skill helps individuals step into their strength, set healthy boundaries, and advocate for their needs without losing connection to their tenderness. Drawing from her work with the Tender & Fierce Self-Compassion framework, Laura offers real-life examples and empowering language that listeners can begin using right away. Whether you're healing from heartbreak, navigating complex family roles, or learning to reclaim your voice, this episode offers a path toward balance, wholeness, and inner power. You'll learn: The difference between tender and fierce self-compassion Why fierce self-compassion is especially important for us Practical phrases and mindset shifts for daily empowerment How MSC can help you heal, grow, and come back to love—within yourself and your relationships Tune in for an episode that's both grounding and galvanizing. For those local to Boston, Laura is co-leading a Mindful Self Compassion class beginning this fall. For more information about Laura Shakun: https://www.compassiontherapy.net/ Learn more about Robyn here: https://www.comebacktolove.com

In a world constantly demanding our attention and energy, have you ever felt trapped between the crucial need to care for yourself and the undeniable urge to care for those around you?  Well, for this conversation, Debbie gets into that very dilemma with Dr. Jordan Quaglia, as he challenges us to move beyond the 'either/or' of self-care and explore his revolutionary 'We Care' approach.  Jordan, who is the author of Self-Care to We Care: The New Science of Mindful Boundaries and Caring From an Undivided Heart, gives his take on the research on balancing self-care with caring for others and emphasizes the importance of holding both self-care and compassion for others simultaneously and offers practical strategies for setting healthy boundaries and integrating self-care into daily life. Come join Debbie and Jordan to redefine what it means to care! Listen and Learn:  Why balancing care for others and self-care isn't an either-or and the hidden choices in between When self-care crosses into avoidance or indulgence, it may signal disconnection rather than renewal Finding balance when caring for others overrides your own needs In moments of tragedy, do you become the superhero or collapse from the hurt? The We Care framework to transform self-care and caring for others into one balanced practice in everyday life Transform overwhelming empathy into sustainable compassion that fuels your action and protects your well-being How care-based boundaries protect your energy while deepening connection, not guilt Balancing self-care and caring for the world work together to fuel your resilience and action Resources:  From Self-Care to We-Care: The New Science of Mindful Boundaries and Caring from an Undivided Heart: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781645473473 Jordan's website: https://www.jordanquaglia.com/ Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn and Instagram:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanquaglia  https://www.instagram.com/mindfulboundaries/?hl=en About Jordan Quaglia Jordan Quaglia, PhD, has spent over a decade researching and teaching on topics such as mindfulness, compassion, and boundaries. He is an associate professor of psychology at Naropa University, where he directs the Cognitive and Affective Science Laboratory and is research director for its Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education. A recognized expert in the science of compassion, he has been designated as a research fellow by the Mind & Life Institute, a Contemplative Social Justice Scholar for Contemplative Mind in Society, and a panelist for multiple United Nations Day of Vesak conferences. In addition to his research, Jordan co-developed and regularly teaches an eight-week compassion training curriculum for hundreds of individuals. He lives with his wife in Boulder, Colorado. Book: From Self-Care to We-Care: The New Science of Mindful Boundaries and Caring from an Undivided Heart Related episodes:  374. Developing and Deepening Connections with Adam Dorsay  360. The Laws of Connection with David Robson  262. Hope and Values in Dark Times 254. Cultivating Compassion for a Lasting Connection with Michaela Thomas 234. The Power of Us with Dominic Packer  201. Fierce Compassion with Kristin Nef 105. The Self-Care Prescription with Robyn Gobin 75. Mindful Self-Compassion with Christopher Germer 65. Self-care, Kindness, and Living Well with Kelly Wilson  46. Altruism and the Flow of Compassion with Yotam Heineberg 32. Social Connection: Exploring Loneliness and Building Intimacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a world constantly demanding our attention and energy, have you ever felt trapped between the crucial need to care for yourself and the undeniable urge to care for those around you?  Well, for this conversation, Debbie gets into that very dilemma with Dr. Jordan Quaglia, as he challenges us to move beyond the 'either/or' of self-care and explore his revolutionary 'We Care' approach.  Jordan, who is the author of Self-Care to We Care: The New Science of Mindful Boundaries and Caring From an Undivided Heart, gives his take on the research on balancing self-care with caring for others and emphasizes the importance of holding both self-care and compassion for others simultaneously and offers practical strategies for setting healthy boundaries and integrating self-care into daily life. Come join Debbie and Jordan to redefine what it means to care! Listen and Learn:  Why balancing care for others and self-care isn't an either-or and the hidden choices in between When self-care crosses into avoidance or indulgence, it may signal disconnection rather than renewal Finding balance when caring for others overrides your own needs In moments of tragedy, do you become the superhero or collapse from the hurt? The We Care framework to transform self-care and caring for others into one balanced practice in everyday life Transform overwhelming empathy into sustainable compassion that fuels your action and protects your well-being How care-based boundaries protect your energy while deepening connection, not guilt Balancing self-care and caring for the world work together to fuel your resilience and action Resources:  From Self-Care to We-Care: The New Science of Mindful Boundaries and Caring from an Undivided Heart: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781645473473 Jordan's website: https://www.jordanquaglia.com/ Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn and Instagram:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanquaglia  https://www.instagram.com/mindfulboundaries/?hl=en About Jordan Quaglia Jordan Quaglia, PhD, has spent over a decade researching and teaching on topics such as mindfulness, compassion, and boundaries. He is an associate professor of psychology at Naropa University, where he directs the Cognitive and Affective Science Laboratory and is research director for its Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education. A recognized expert in the science of compassion, he has been designated as a research fellow by the Mind & Life Institute, a Contemplative Social Justice Scholar for Contemplative Mind in Society, and a panelist for multiple United Nations Day of Vesak conferences. In addition to his research, Jordan co-developed and regularly teaches an eight-week compassion training curriculum for hundreds of individuals. He lives with his wife in Boulder, Colorado. Book: From Self-Care to We-Care: The New Science of Mindful Boundaries and Caring from an Undivided Heart Related episodes:  374. Developing and Deepening Connections with Adam Dorsay  360. The Laws of Connection with David Robson  262. Hope and Values in Dark Times 254. Cultivating Compassion for a Lasting Connection with Michaela Thomas 234. The Power of Us with Dominic Packer  201. Fierce Compassion with Kristin Nef 105. The Self-Care Prescription with Robyn Gobin 75. Mindful Self-Compassion with Christopher Germer 65. Self-care, Kindness, and Living Well with Kelly Wilson  46. Altruism and the Flow of Compassion with Yotam Heineberg 32. Social Connection: Exploring Loneliness and Building Intimacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you trying to be a superhero…and burning out in the process? The truth is, self-sacrifice is NOT the key to being a good person. And it might actually be hurting everyone around you! Dr. Chris Germer, a leading expert on self-compassion, joins Matt to expose the lie that giving everything makes you noble. Learn practical strategies to break free from burnout, set healthy boundaries, and cultivate true compassion that starts with yourself. Whether you're a busy parent, caregiver, or anyone feeling stretched too thin, this episode offers transformative insights to help you thrive. Tune in to revolutionize the way you care for others - and most importantly YOU!0:00 Introduction1:29 The lie of self-sacrifice hurts everyone4:59 Balancing family responsibilities and self-care8:18 Three components of self-compassion13:43 Stress physiology and self-criticism16:49 Recognizing early signs of burnout22:52 Practical ways to start self-compassion27:41 Simple daily practices for self-care31:06 Letting go of superhuman expectations33:49 Key takeaways and closing thoughtsResources Mentioned:

Constantly battling that harsh inner voice that tells you you're not enough, that you'll never measure up? It can feel like this voice is always lurking, trying to undermine your confidence and making it so much harder to move forward. The good news is that you can change your internal narrative. For this episode, Jill welcomes Shawn Costello Woolley and Holly Yates, coauthors of The Inner Critic Workbook, a fantastic resource that helps you transform your inner critic into a supportive, empowering voice. You'll understand how shame fuels negative self-talk, but more importantly, how self-compassion, mindfulness, and connecting with shared humanity can help you to quiet your critic and start building a kinder, more confident inner dialogue. Listen and Learn: How your inner critic often sabotages your path toward what matters to you most Why your inner critic exists, how it hijacks your progress, and the ways it holds you back in life Is your inner critic pushing you to avoid discomfort, keeping you from the meaningful things you crave? Why self-compassion isn't about letting yourself off the hook Why attempting to replace your inner critic with positivity frequently fails, and what works instead When your inner critic speaks, does it close doors or point you in the direction of values you care about? Using the CARE method for growth to turn your inner critic into a compassionate coach How shame isolates you, but sharing struggles helps you connect and turns our inner critic into a coach Transforming self-criticism into compassion by speaking to yourself the way you would to a friend Stepping back from your thoughts and reacting intentionally, not just based on emotional interpretations How observing your thoughts and actions in the present moment can help clarify your values and guide your choices Resources: The Inner Critic Workbook: Self-Compassion and Mindfulness Skills to Reduce Feelings of Shame, Build Self-Worth, and Improve Your Life and Relationships: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781648484292 Shawn's website: https://www.drshawnwhooley.com/ More about Holly on: https://www.newharbinger.com/author/holly-yates/ Connect with Shawn and Holly on social media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-yates-8a8055321 https://www.instagram.com/holly.yates.healing/ https://www.instagram.com/shawncostello19/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-costello-whooley-psyd-b181294 Related Episodes: 385. Oliver Burkeman on Embracing Your Limitations 346. Self-compassion Daily Journal with Diana Hill 341. Self-Forgiveness with Grant Dewar 301. Seven Daily ACT Practices for Living Fully with Diana Hill and Debbie Sorensen 201. Fierce Compassion with Kristin Neff 147. Extending Compassion with Janina Scarlet and Sara Schairer 145. Caring, Compassion, and Cooperation with Paul Gilbert 75. Mindful Self-Compassion with Christopher Germer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Constantly battling that harsh inner voice that tells you you're not enough, that you'll never measure up? It can feel like this voice is always lurking, trying to undermine your confidence and making it so much harder to move forward. The good news is that you can change your internal narrative. For this episode, Jill welcomes Shawn Costello Woolley and Holly Yates, coauthors of The Inner Critic Workbook, a fantastic resource that helps you transform your inner critic into a supportive, empowering voice. You'll understand how shame fuels negative self-talk, but more importantly, how self-compassion, mindfulness, and connecting with shared humanity can help you to quiet your critic and start building a kinder, more confident inner dialogue. Listen and Learn: How your inner critic often sabotages your path toward what matters to you most Why your inner critic exists, how it hijacks your progress, and the ways it holds you back in life Is your inner critic pushing you to avoid discomfort, keeping you from the meaningful things you crave? Why self-compassion isn't about letting yourself off the hook Why attempting to replace your inner critic with positivity frequently fails, and what works instead When your inner critic speaks, does it close doors or point you in the direction of values you care about? Using the CARE method for growth to turn your inner critic into a compassionate coach How shame isolates you, but sharing struggles helps you connect and turns our inner critic into a coach Transforming self-criticism into compassion by speaking to yourself the way you would to a friend Stepping back from your thoughts and reacting intentionally, not just based on emotional interpretations How observing your thoughts and actions in the present moment can help clarify your values and guide your choices Resources: The Inner Critic Workbook: Self-Compassion and Mindfulness Skills to Reduce Feelings of Shame, Build Self-Worth, and Improve Your Life and Relationships: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781648484292 Shawn's website: https://www.drshawnwhooley.com/ More about Holly on: https://www.newharbinger.com/author/holly-yates/ Connect with Shawn and Holly on social media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-yates-8a8055321 https://www.instagram.com/holly.yates.healing/ https://www.instagram.com/shawncostello19/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-costello-whooley-psyd-b181294 Related Episodes: 385. Oliver Burkeman on Embracing Your Limitations 346. Self-compassion Daily Journal with Diana Hill 341. Self-Forgiveness with Grant Dewar 301. Seven Daily ACT Practices for Living Fully with Diana Hill and Debbie Sorensen 201. Fierce Compassion with Kristin Neff 147. Extending Compassion with Janina Scarlet and Sara Schairer 145. Caring, Compassion, and Cooperation with Paul Gilbert 75. Mindful Self-Compassion with Christopher Germer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grief is a deeply human experience—universal, yet profoundly personal. Whether it's the loss of a loved one, a major life transition, or the quiet ache for how things used to be, grief touches us all. In this special episode of the Mindfulness Exercises Podcast, we explore the healing potential of mindful self-compassion for those navigating loss. Rather than pushing grief aside or rushing through it, this episode offers a gentle, compassionate approach that honors the pain while creating space for healing. You'll learn how to meet your grief with awareness, kindness, and a sense of shared humanity—the three foundational components of mindful self-compassion. This episode includes a guided meditation to help you process grief with tenderness and courage, offering tools you can return to again and again. What You'll Discover in This Episode: ✔ Why grief is not something to "get over," but something to honor and hold with care ✔ How mindfulness helps you be present with difficult emotions without becoming overwhelmed ✔ How self-compassion can soften inner criticism and support your healing process ✔ The importance of common humanity in breaking the isolation of grief ✔ Practical mindfulness techniques like grief breathing, naming, grounding, and titration ✔ A gentle, guided meditation to support your grief journey with kindness and presence This episode is for anyone—especially mindfulness teachers, therapists, and wellness professionals—looking to deepen their understanding of grief and how to integrate self-compassion into their personal and professional practice.

This week on Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads, we're joined by the incredible Alyssa Kushner, LCSW—a licensed therapist and fierce mental health advocate who helps clients navigate anxiety, trauma, burnout, and self-doubt. In this honest and empowering conversation, Alyssa shares how she built her private practice, overcame impostor syndrome, and framed her approach to self-trust and joy heading into 2025. Whether you're feeling paralyzed by perfectionism or just trying to figure out where to begin, Alyssa's story and practical insights will leave you feeling seen, supported, and inspired to take that next step. And hey, we're not just your average mental health podcast—we're officially award-winning!

Shownotes   Exactly what Internal Family Systems therapy is The actual mechanism that creates the most profound level of healing Psychedelics as a loving catalyst to know ourselves more The truth about psychedelic stigma Why it's important to prepare your set and setting with psychedelics The difference between doses of psilocybin   Bio   Nick Brüss, EdD, LMFT, is a leading licensed psychedelic therapist, researcher and educator who is passionate about inspiring and helping people heal, grow and live creative lives. He's pioneering treatments and programs that harness the synergistic power of combining psychedelic medicine with cutting edge therapy and coaching.    Dr. Brüss was a clinical researcher and supervisor on the ground breaking FDA Phase III clinical trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD sponsored by MAPS, and is currently a lead therapist on the Phase III Psilocybin therapy study for Treatment Resistant Depression sponsored by Compass Pathways.    In private practice, he specializes in concierge ketamine-assisted and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy. He trains nationally and speaks internationally on psychedelic-assisted therapy safety and efficacy, and is a co-founder of the Psychedelic Coalition for Health, a psychedelic medicine education and training platform.    Dr. Brüss is also a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator through UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and a certified teacher of both Mindful Self-Compassion, and the Compassion Cultivation Training through the Center for Compassion, Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University School of Medicine.   Find more about Dr. Brüss' work at www.apracticeoffreedom.com and connect with him on LinkedIn and Instagram. Timestamps   00:01:14 - Guest introduction 00:02:20 - How Layla and Dr. Brüss originally connected 00:04:51 - Sign up for Layla's newsletter at LaylaMartin.com 00:06:51 - The first time Layla experienced her own somatic avoidance 00:11:14 - Humans are so beautiful when they don't have so much pain 00:13:52 - Dr. Brüss explains what Internal Family Systems therapy is 00:19:24 - Unlock your deepest passion inside The Tantric Mastermind for Couples 00:20:06 - Discover your most masculine confidence and presence with Men's Sexual Mastery 00:21:12 - Dr. Brüss introduces listeners to MAPS 00:24:36 - The actual mechanism that creates this profound level of healing 00:27:19 - Layla shares about her experiences with MDMA 00:30:43 - How IFS integrates with felt-sense experience 00:32:30 - How intellectually “getting” something isn't the same as being “in” it 00:36:33 - We don't realize how much power we actually have 00:38:44 - Discover MOOD™ Sex Magic 00:42:48 - How psychedelics can be a loving catalyst to know ourselves more 00:44:28 - Layla shares her experience with psychedelics 00:47:22 - Dr. Brüss and Layla drink MOOD Sex Magic 00:55:28 - Psychedelic stigma was intentionally created 00:57:02 - The war on disconnection 00:57:27 - Enhance your sensitivity and pleasure inside Crystal Pleasure 00:59:15 - Why it's important to prepare your set and setting with psychedelics 01:04:33 - Dr. Brüss shares about his first psychedelic experience 01:07:24 - The difference between doses of psilocybin 01:12:06 - How different psychedelics work on different situations 01:19:53 - Conclusion  

Mark is a trauma-informed coach with roots in somatics, development, and mindfulness. He is also a trained teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion and believes how we talk to ourselves is more than just a way to feel better. It's also instrumental to our growth as leaders in a complex world. He came to Not Simple to discuss what we get wrong about self-compassion, as well as how it can improve our lives. Learn more about the course Mark and Rebecca are leading here. And use the code MSC50 for 50% off.

We are often our own harshest critics, but what if self-compassion could be the key to unlocking resilience, growth, and inner peace? In this empowering episode, Dr. Kristin Neff, a pioneering researcher and author, reveals the transformative power of self-compassion and how it can help us overcome burnout, build authentic self-worth, and navigate life's challenges with grace. Through mindfulness, common humanity, and self-kindness, Dr Neff explains how self-compassion works not as an indulgence but as a strength that fosters motivation, emotional well-being, and stronger boundaries. With actionable strategies like the “self-compassion break” and simple grounding practices, you'll learn how to reframe self-talk, embrace your imperfections, and rediscover the joy of being human. Whether you're a caregiver, entrepreneur, or simply seeking balance, this conversation will inspire you to stop being so hard on yourself and start living in a place of true inner strength. About Dr Kristin Neff Dr Kristin Neff is a trailblazing researcher, author, and educator who has transformed the way we understand and practice self-compassion. As an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, Kristin conducted the first empirical studies on self-compassion over two decades ago, establishing herself as one of the most influential figures in psychology today. She is the bestselling author of Self-Compassion and Fierce Self-Compassion and co-developer of the Mindful Self-Compassion program, an evidence-based approach to building resilience and emotional well-being. Through the Centre for Mindful Self-Compassion, which she co-founded, and the Self-Compassion Community, an online platform for shared learning, Kristin has helped countless individuals cultivate self-kindness and transform their lives. Her groundbreaking work, including co-authoring The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook and Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout, continues to inspire a global audience to embrace their humanity with courage and care. You can watch the video of this conversation on YouTube Find Out More About Dr Kristin Neff Visit Dr Neff’s Website Check Out Dr Neff’s Giveaways Below: Free Self-Compassion Test Free Intro to Self-Compassion Sessions Connect with Dr Kristin Neff on Facebook Follow Dr Neff on Instagram @NeffSelfCompassion

Julie Potiker is a mindfulness expert with extensive certifications and teacher training in a variety of tools and methods, including Mindful Self-Compassion. Julie details strategies for coping with anger, anxiety, grief, political strife and disaster, parenting struggles, and your inner critic from her new book, “SNAP! From Chaos to Calm.” Through her Mindful Methods for Life program offerings, Julie helps others bring more peace and wellness into their lives. Julie's first book, “Life Falls Apart, but You Don't Have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos," is now available on audiobook. Key Topics: - Julie's journey to understanding mindfulness and its role in her parenting journey - The difficulties of managing stress as a parent - How Julie's SNAP method can down regulate the nervous system and decrease stress - Evident-based research on the importance of mindfulness - The difference between mindfulness and meditation - How to offer self-compassion when you mess up and fail to regulate yourself in the moment - How to write a retirement letter to your inner critic Learn more about Julie at mindfulmethodsforlife.com Grab Erin's stress-busting nutrition guide here: https://mailchi.mp/5bf7e5c21f62/stress-busting-nutrition-guide

Healing the Past, Navigating the Present with Mindful Self-Compassion In a heartfelt and insightful discussion, Dr. Laura Shakun joined Robyn Vogel on the Come Back To Love radio show to explore the transformative power of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC). Together, they delved into how MSC can be a healing balm for past wounds and a practical tool for navigating present struggles and stress. Dr. Shakun shared her expertise on the profound impact of integrating compassion into our daily lives. She introduced a simple yet powerful 4-step practice that listeners can use throughout their day to rewire their minds, bodies, and beings for greater compassion and love. This practice isn't just about reflecting on past pain—it's about cultivating a way of being that allows for more intentional, compassionate responses to ourselves and others, even in moments of difficulty. The conversation emphasized that MSC is both a healing practice and a proactive approach to life's challenges. By using these tools consistently, individuals can create lasting change in how they relate to themselves, their stressors, and their relationships. Listeners will leave the conversation inspired and equipped with practical strategies to bring more self-compassion into their lives, fostering deeper love and understanding within themselves and in their connections with others. For those local to Boston, Laura is co-leading a Mindful Self Compassion class beginning Feb 2nd.  For more information about Laura Shakun: https://www.compassiontherapy.net/ BIO: Laura is a clinical psychologist dedicated to empowering people to access their inner wisdom and innate healing capacity to overcome challenges and live fulfilling lives. With compassion at the center, she offers personalized care and support to help you navigate through difficult times as opportunities for growth. She will help you envision and engage in a life you choose. I invite you to join her on this journey of discovery, healing and transformation. Learn more about Robyn here: https://www.comebacktolove.com

Burnout is on the rise. Two experts show us how to combat it.Dr. Kristin Neff is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion more than twenty years ago. Christopher Germer is a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He also co-developed a highly impactful program called Mindful Self-Compassion, which has been taught to over 100,000 people across the world.This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series. We talk about:How to know if you are burnt outThe three main symptoms of burnout, their causes, and their health consequencesThe three components of self-compassion and how they can help The inner critic and why we kick our own assesHow to draw appropriate boundaries with your bossThe difference between tender and fierce self-compassionTools for dealing with perfectionism without letting go of high standardsRelated Episodes: Do Life BetterSanely Ambitious Kryptonite for the Inner Critic | Kristin Neff#360 Self-Compassion Ain't Always Soft | Kristin Neff#310 The Scientific Case for Self-Compassion | Chris GermerFor the Burned Out, Fried, and Exhausted | Emily & Amelia NagoskiSign up for Dan's newsletter hereFollow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTokTen Percent Happier online bookstoreSubscribe to our YouTube ChannelOur favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular EpisodesFull Shownotes: https://meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/neff-germer-894Additional Resources:Self-compassion event with Kristin Neff & Dan HarrisThe Self-Compassion TestThe Center for Mindful Self CompassionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this nuanced and elevated episode of Beyond Trauma, David Treleaven shares the core of his findings on best practices for trauma sensitivity in mindfulness and how his recommendations have evolved since his book, Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, came out five years ago. David gives suggestions for what mindfulness and meditation teachers and practitioners can do if they become stuck in their practice to proceed safely while honoring the tradition of mindfulness.  In the self-paced The Complete Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Training, David has compiled recommendations from the best in the field including Tara Brach, Rich Hanson, Rhonda Magee, and others who are a part of his guest faculty. This two-part, twelve-module course sets the foundation for safety and distills advanced tools for practicing and teaching mindfulness. It has been fundamental for me in my work. David is now offering $400 off this training when you use code: Lara at check out.  David's current focus which you will hear about in this episode is the combination of Mindfulness and Internal Family Systems for trauma healing. His Internal Family Systems for Trauma Sensitive Practitioners course starts TOMORROW, January 7th, and runs every Tuesday for four weeks. Recordings and hand-outs are available after each session.  David Treleaven, PhD, is a writer, educator, and leading expert on the intersection of mindfulness and trauma. Author of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing, David trains mindfulness, yoga, and mental health professionals to integrate trauma-sensitive principles into their work. With over a decade of experience, he has collaborated with organizations like the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion and universities including Brown and UCLA, helping practitioners create safer and more effective spaces for healing. You can learn more about his work at www.davidtreleaven.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Order The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga: How to Create Safer Spaces for All Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.

In this updated episode, originally aired in Season Two, Amy is joined by Dr. Kristin Neff to discuss the generative power of anger, the danger of rote gender roles, and the radical power of self-compassion.Kristin Neff (she/her) received her doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, and is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.During Kristin's last year of graduate school she became interested in Buddhism and has been practicing meditation in the Insight Meditation tradition ever since. While doing her post-doctoral work she decided to conduct research on self-compassion – a central construct in Buddhist psychology and one that had not yet been examined empirically. Kristin is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, creating a scale to measure the construct almost 20 years ago. She has been recognized as one of the world's most influential research psychologists. In addition to writing numerous academic articles and book chapters on the topic, she is author of the book Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, and her latest Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power and Thrive.In conjunction with her colleague Dr. Chris Germer, she has developed an empirically supported training program called Mindful Self-Compassion, which is taught by thousands of teachers worldwide. They co-authored The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook as well as Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program: A Guide for Professionals. She is also co-founder of the nonprofit Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.

Join Kristin Neff as she explores the transformative power of self-compassion in her latest book "Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout." Kristin discusses practical ways to cultivate self-compassion in daily life, helping listeners navigate personal challenges and stress with greater ease and resilience. Discover how embracing self-compassion can lead to more authentic and fulfilling life experiences. Subscribe for ad-free interviews and bonus episodes https://plus.acast.com/s/the-unmistakable-creative-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For episode 252, Kristin Neff returns to the Metta Hour for her third appearance on the podcast.Dr. Kristin Neff is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion more than twenty years ago. She has been recognized as one of the most influential researchers in psychology worldwide is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Kristin runs the Self-Compassion Community, an online learning platform where people can learn the skill of self-compassion with the help of others, and is author of the bestselling books Self-Compassion and Fierce Self-Compassion. Her new book, Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout, co-authored with Chris Germer, is now available everywhere.In this conversation, Kristin and Sharon discuss:Kristin's personal burnout Kristin's definition of compassionMyths of self-compassionWhat happens in burnoutNegativity bias sinkholesThe necessity of positive statesHealthy boundariesLoving the Inner critic Research on Self-CompassionSelf-Compassion Example ScenariosKristin's new community offeringKristin closes the conversation with a guided meditation on Self-Compassion. You can learn more about Kristin's work right here and get a copy of her new book, Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout right here. You can join Kristin's Self-Compassion Community right here and take her Self-Compassion Quiz right here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why do so many people seem to resist self-compassion? Dr. Chris Germer, co-creator of the Mindful Self-Compassion program, joins Forrest to explore how we can work with the deeply ingrained shame that gets in the way. Dr. Germer shares common misunderstandings about self-compassion, and they discuss the complex interplay between shame, self-criticism, and our capacity for self-care. Forrest focuses on the paradox of self-compassion: how approaching it as a “solution to your problems” actually gets in the way of it helping you out. Dr. Germer then shares the model of safety, challenge, and overwhelm, including how we can use it to guide our practice, get to the bottom of shame, and avoid burnout along the way. You can watch this episode on YouTube. Key Topics: 0:00: Introduction 1:30: What people get wrong about self-compassion  5:10: Tender vs. fierce self-compassion, and the “paradox of practice” 11:35: Shame and self-compassion 17:35: Safety, challenge, and overwhelm 23:30: Holding ourselves before holding our experience 31:45: Burnout, and inner-kindness vs. external approval 37:35: Getting to the bottom of shame, and loving ourselves up 42:00: Applying mindfulness to self-compassion practice 48:40: Overzealousness, and clarity of intention 53:10: Motivating ourselves 57:00: Recap I am now writing on Substack, check out my work there.  Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Sponsors Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/beingwell.  Transform your health with the ZOE Science & Nutrition podcast. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts. Trust your gut with Seed's DS-01 Daily Synbiotic. Go to Seed.com/BEINGWELL and use code 25BEINGWELL to get 25% off your first month.  Get 15% off OneSkin with the code BEINGWELL at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod  Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world's largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you believe in magic? Are you both skeptical AND curious about magic? How is magical thinking supportive for trauma survivors, and where does it harm us?In this Moonbeaming episode, host Sarah Faith Godestiner (Please spell my last name correctly, thanks!) examines the psychological phenomenon around “magical thinking,” cognitive distortions that trauma survivors often create.This episode has something for the believer and skeptic alike. This week, you'll learn:(bullet) 3 ways that magical thinking shows up as cognitive distortionsHow magical thinking can be supportive for trauma survivorsDiscerning certain fantasies, where they come from, and the importance of paying attention to realityTaking responsibility and aligned actionIf you've wondered why you think certain thoughts, or favor fantasy over action, this episode is for you.MOONBEAMING LINKS:Join the Moon Studio Patreon. Buy the 2025 Many Moons Lunar Planner.Subscribe to our newsletter. Find Sarah on Instagram.

In this episode, Dr. Kristin Neff discusses the importance of self-compassion, particularly in the context of burnout. She shares her personal journey and how her experiences shaped her understanding of self-compassion. The conversation explores various aspects of self-compassion, including its role in managing stress, the significance of common humanity, and the challenges faced by caregivers. Dr. Neff also introduces the concept of 'backdraft' in self-compassion, emphasizing the need for a gentle approach to healing. The episode concludes with insights on the diverse approaches to self-compassion and the importance of self-care.Main TopicsSelf-compassion can significantly improve coping mechanisms during stressful times.Burnout often leads to depersonalization, where individuals stop caring due to overwhelming stress.Practicing self-compassion helps prevent negative self-judgment during difficult moments.Common humanity is a core aspect of self-compassion, reminding us that everyone struggles.Self-care should focus on emotional needs rather than just physical indulgences.The sandwich generation faces unique challenges that self-compassion can help address.Backdraft refers to the overwhelming feelings that can arise when practicing self-compassion too quickly.Self-compassion is a process that requires ongoing attention and adjustment.Different individuals may respond better to different forms of self-compassion, such as physical touch or verbal affirmations.Spirituality can enhance self-compassion by connecting individuals to something larger than themselves.Feel free to send us an email at info@emotionalintelligents.com and share your thoughts or visit us at https://linktr.ee/emotionalintelligents Send us a text

348. How to Quiet Your Inner Critic with Dr. Kristin Neff Dr. Kristin Neff shares the secret to self-compassion and how to lessen our inner critic's voice in order to build self-worth. Discover: -The 20-second daily practice you need to increase your self-compassion; -How to use your compassion for others as a template for how to treat yourself; -How to give your inner-critic a software update; and -The “fierce” self-compassion and what it has to do with drawing boundaries. On The Guest: Dr. Kristin Neff is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, and co-founder of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. She is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion more than twenty years ago. Kristin runs the Self-Compassion Community, an online learning platform where people can learn the skill of self-compassion with the help of others. She is author of the bestselling books Self-Compassion and Fierce Self-Compassion. She also co-wrote The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook and has a new book called Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout coming out in Fall 2024. Order her latest book here: https://self-compassion.org/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Burnout and stress continue to create tremendous challenges at home and on the job, so this week, we're looking at how we can reclaim our joy and energy. Join host Paula Felps as she talks with clinical psychologist Chris Germer who, along with researcher Dr. Kristin Neff, developed the world-renowned Mindful Self-compassion program. Their third co-authored book, Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout, looks at how self-compassion can help overcome burnout and offers simple anti-burnout tools to de-stress, recharge, and develop your inner kindness. In this episode, you'll learn: What self-compassion is and why it's so important to practice. Why burnout is so prevalent these days — and what's causing it. How self-compassion can help alleviate burnout.

Join Kristin Neff as she explores the transformative power of self-compassion in her latest book "Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout." Kristin discusses practical ways to cultivate self-compassion in daily life, helping listeners navigate personal challenges and stress with greater ease and resilience. Discover how embracing self-compassion can lead to more authentic and fulfilling life experiences.Incogni Personal Information: Removal ServiceIn today's digital world, your personal information can be more exposed than you think. Data brokers collect and sell your personal details, putting you at risk of scams, identity theft, and online harassment. But there's a solution: Incogni. Incogni is a service that works tirelessly to protect your personal information. They reach out to data brokers on your behalf, request the removal of your personal data, and handle any objections. This means you can enjoy peace of mind, knowing your personal information is being kept private and secure.As a listener of our show, we have a special offer for you.Use the code UNMISTAKABLE at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/unmistakableJoin us for our Life of Purpose series this month as we revisit some of our most impactful episodes. Dive deep into expert insights and practical strategies on health, performance, and community, helping you achieve personal and professional fulfillment. Subscribe for ad-free interviews and bonus episodes https://plus.acast.com/s/the-unmistakable-creative-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this conversation, Nina and Dr. Kristin Neff discuss the importance of self-compassion and its power to improve our well-being. Dr. Neff, a researcher and expert in self-compassion, shares insights from her own personal experiences and research. They explore the difference between self-compassion and self-esteem, the reasons why people struggle with self-compassion, and practical steps to cultivate self-compassion. They also discuss the role of self-compassion in parenting and how to help children develop self-compassion. Dr. Neff provides resources, including her website and books, to support individuals in practicing self-compassion. Chapters 00:00: Introduction and Personal Experiences 02:56: The Power of Self-Compassion 09:30: Understanding and Overcoming Obstacles to Self-Compassion 18:21: Practical Steps to Cultivate Self-Compassion 21:34: Helping Children Develop Self-Compassion 26:24: Navigating Shame and Guilt 28:23: Self-Compassion for Coping with Burnout Dr. Kristin Neff is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion more than twenty years ago. She has been recognized as one of the most influential researchers in psychology worldwide. Kristin runs the Self-Compassion Community, an online learning platform where people can learn the skill of self-compassion with the help of others. She is author of the bestselling books Self-Compassion and Fierce Self-Compassion. Along with her colleague Chris Germer, she developed the empirically-supported Mindful Self- Compassion program and co-founded the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. They co-wrote the best-selling The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook and have a new book called Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout coming out in Fall 2024. For more info go to self-compassion.org. Today's episode Sponsors: BetterHelp.com/MAMAKNOWS - to get 10% off your first month of therapy  Lumedeodorant.com and use code MAMAKNOWS for 15% off  Go to Seed.com/MAMAKNOWS and use code 25MAMAKNOWS to get 25% off your first month of DS-01® Daily Synbiotic or PDS-08® Pediatric Daily Synbiotic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CAUTION ADVISED: this podcast contains mild swear words and themes of an adult nature. This week, I have decided to re-release a conversation that originally came out over three years ago, all the way back in March 2021. Since then, this podcast has attracted many new listeners who perhaps will not have heard this particular conversation. And to me, this is an episode that speaks to one of the most important topics when it comes to improving our health and happiness - compassion. But I'm not talking about compassion for others, I'm talking about compassion for ourselves, and how this is a crucial ingredient that is often overlooked when it comes to living a happier and healthier life. Even if you did hear the original episode, I still think it is worth re-listening as this is a topic that we could all do with a reminder on from time to time. Dr Kristin Neff is a professor at the University of Texas in the department of psychology. She's co-founder of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion and the author of several best-selling books on the topic. In our conversation, Kristin explains what self-compassion is and why it matters. She explains the difference between self-compassion and self-esteem. Self-compassion is not about making excuses for yourself nor is it about self-pity, instead, it is very much an active, mindful state. Now I know that the very notion of self-love can make a lot of people feel very uncomfortable. Kristin explains why this might be and shares many different ways we can give ourselves compassion. She recommends that people experiment and find a method that feels easy and pleasant for them. We also talk about the ever-present problem of our brain's ‘inner critic' and how our parents influence the way we talk to ourselves. She also explains why self-compassion is most definitely not selfish, in fact, people who have it are kinder, more loving and less controlling of others. Kristin also makes a key distinction between acts of self-care – such as taking a bath, having a massage – and self-compassion. She explains that self-compassion is actually a state of mind. It's not something you have to do, it doesn't take time or resources. It's simply the opposite of being self-critical. It's a way of thinking that has your own best interests at heart. But, this way of thinking doesn't come naturally to us. As humans, we are hard-wired for self-criticism - it's an evolutionary mechanism that makes us feel safe. But when navigating life, who do you want in your head: an enemy who belittles you or a friend who supports you? At the end of our conversation, Kristin takes us through a beautiful practical exercise in finding self-compassion that I think you will really enjoy. This is such an important topic that doesn't get spoken about enough in the conversation around health – I hope you enjoy listening.Find out more about my NEW Journal here https://drchatterjee.com/journalThanks to our sponsors:https://vivobarefoot.com/livemorehttps://drinkag1.com/livemoreShow notes https://drchatterjee.com/442DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Self-compassion expert Dr. Kristin Neff is guest hosting this week on Radio Headspace. Today she explores balancing care for others with self-compassion, debunks the myths around selfishness, and explains how to enhance relationships through kindness. If you'd like to continue learning about self-compassion, check out Dr. Neff's online Mindful Self-Compassion courses here. All Radio Headspace listeners will receive a 15% discount for upcoming courses with the following code: cmscheadspace. This code is good through September 30, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Self-compassion expert Dr. Kristin Neff is guest hosting this week on Radio Headspace. Today she delves into the profound impacts of self-compassion on well-being and resilience, highlighting its role as a vital resource. If you'd like to continue learning about self-compassion, check out Dr. Neff's online Mindful Self-Compassion courses here. All Radio Headspace listeners will receive a 15% discount for upcoming courses with the following code: cmscheadspace. This code is good through September 30, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Self-compassion expert Dr. Kristin Neff is guest hosting this week on Radio Headspace and today she debunks the myth that self-compassion hinders motivation, revealing how it serves as a more effective motivator than self-criticism. If you'd like to continue learning about self-compassion, check out Dr. Neff's online Mindful Self-Compassion courses here. All Radio Headspace listeners will receive a 15% discount for upcoming courses with the following code: cmscheadspace. This code is good through September 30, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices