Ep.53 Mental Health Mini Series #6 Make Self Compassion Your Superpower

In the final episode of the mental health mini-series, join host Amber-lee as she explores the transformative power of self-compassion. I delve into the concept of self-compassion with insights from leading researcher Dr. Kristen Neff and discover the key elements of self-kindness, shared humanity, and mindfulness as tools to nurture understanding and care towards oneself. Through relatable scenarios of fictional mothers Kate and Nora, listeners witness the impact of self-compassion on navigating the challenges of motherhood and emotional health. Practical strategies and insights are offered and backed by neuroscience to cultivate self-compassion and reshape inner dialogues. Tune in to uncover the importance of challenging societal stigmas and beliefs to embrace self-compassion as a form of self-love and empowerment, understand why self-compassion precedes gratitude and how practicing kindness with determination leads to personal growth. Self-compassion fosters resilience, enhances motivation, and promotes emotional wellbeing - compassion is not a weakness, in fact it is so powerful it can quite literally transform your brain for the better! 

Thank you for tuning into the mental health mini-series! Don't forget to leave a review on whatever podcast platform you are listening on. I appreciate you for being here!

 

Resources:

Dr Kristen Neff website: https://self-compassion.org/

Kristen Neff self-compassion test: https://self-compassion.org/self-compassion-test/

To find out more about the perfect mother myth mentioned in this episode see: https://drsophiebrock.com/

Grab your free self compassion based motherhood affirmations here: https://www.thepowerofbirth.net/

 

Finding Support in Australia:

PANDA.org.au 

1300 726 306

COPE.org.au

Beyond Blue 1300 224 636

Gidget Foundation

Black Dog Institute 1300 851 758

 

Disclaimer: While the content of this podcast is intended to provide support and guidance, it is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. The techniques and practices discussed here are general in nature and may not be suitable for everyone.

If you are experiencing significant distress, mental health concerns, or trauma, I encourage you to seek support from a qualified mental health professional. Additionally, if at any point during this episode you feel overwhelmed or triggered, please turn it off and talk to someone or do something that is helpful to you.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to the last episode of the mental health mini series, episode six, make self compassion your superpower. There is actual power in self compassion. And if you were anything like me a couple of years ago, and you really lacked self compassion, I hope that this episode just plants the seed of self compassion today I first want to give you a good understanding of what self compassion is. So it's a concept that's gained a lot of attention, but thanks to psychologists like Dr. Kristen Neff, who is now the leading researcher in self compassion. She says it involves treating ourselves with the same kindness, concern, and support we'd offer a good friend when they're struggling. There are three key parts to this. Self kindness. Shared humanity and mindfulness. I did mindfulness a few episodes ago, so make sure that you go back and check that one out to help balance this out a little bit.

And as I have a focus on mothers in this podcast, women's health, motherhood, reproductive health, and perinatal mental health, or just mental health in general. That's because motherhood comes with these incredibly high unrealistic expectations, which then turn, harsh judgments, whether that be from yourself or from others. It's all perpetuated by the myth of this perfect mother, this perfect mother does not exist. And yet every mother to some degree will set her expectations up against her perception of what the perfect mother is. And this myth can make us feel like we are never enough and that we're a bad mom and that we're never measuring up. Self compassion offers us a way out of that emotional trap by helping us treat ourselves with understanding and care, like we would a friend. Some of us are very good at offering compassion to others and not very good at offering it to ourselves. And then some of us are not very good at giving it to others and then in turn, we are [00:02:00] not very good at giving it to ourselves. So be mindful of where you're sitting in this I guess you could call it this spectrum of self compassion where we've got really harsh judgmental criticisms on one one