The Gift of Self-Compassion

Did you know the following deceptively similar concepts - self-esteem, narcissism, and self-compassion - are different? I didn't.

There is a podcast interview w/ a psychologist, Dr Kristin Neff, on self-compassion. She talks about the differences among self-esteem, narcissism, and self-compassion and why self-compassion is important for our well-being. It is fascinating to see that self-compassion is different from self-indulgence or self-pity. It an act of being kind to ourselves without judgment. It is in a way the ultimate goal of psychotherapy. Well, at least, it is for me.

Below is an exchange between the interviewer and Kristin that I found pretty interesting re: the differences among the three.

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David: So all of this raises the question as to how self-compassion differs from being narcissistically self-centered.

Kristin Neff: It differs in many ways. So, again, for one, narcissism is all about me. Self-compassion, although that term "self" is there kind of as the target of the compassion, it really is all about recognizing the shared human condition. Compassion, almost by definition, means to "suffer with." So you suffer with someone else or you suffer with yourself in the sense that you frame yourself as part of this larger human community. And it also, the way I define it, entails mindfulness, which is seeing things clearly as they are as opposed to getting lost in your own personal soap opera. So when you see things as they are, you don't get lost in self-pity and the story of "poor me," and you recognize this is the human condition, to be imperfect, then it's really actually not self-centered at all. So that's one way it's different from narcissism.

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The interview is available in both audio and text at http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_index.php?idx=119&d=1&w=9&e=43061.

AEDPの創始者 ダイアナ フォーシャのインタビュー Interview with Diana Fosha available in Podcast

私が一番影響を受けている恩師であり、AEDPというセラピーモデルの創始者であるダイアナ　フォーシャ　先生のインタビューがポッドキャストで聞けるようになりました！　http://www.aedpinstitute.org/interviews.html
AEDPというセラピーのモデルが出来たバックグラウンド、名前の由来、なぜこのモデルでは感情に焦点をあてるのか、などの質問に分かりやすく答えています（英語ですが、、、）。ご興味のある方はどうぞチェックしてみて下さい。

My mentor and the founder of a therapy model, AEDP, Diana Fosha Ph.D., was recently interviewed by Mental Help.net and Somatic Perspectives. Her interview is posted at the AEDP's website, http://www.aedpinstitute.org/interviews.html. Diana answers questions, such as the theoretical background of AEDP, what AEDP stands for and means, and why AEDP focuses on affects in an eloquent and yet simple language. Hope you find it enjoyable!