Mindful self-compassion and psychological wellbeing

Abstract

Mindful Self-Compassion is a well-designed program that teaches us how we are touched by and open to our suffering. It generates the desire to alleviate one’s suffering and to heal oneself with kindness. It also involves non-judgmental understanding of one’s pain, weakness, failure, and so on. All these experiences can be seen as part of human experience. This paper explores different practices in MSC including how to apply it in our daily life. The concept of self-compassion is relatively new to people in modern times. So far, the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program is the only one that studies and investigates self-compassion thoroughly. The practice of compassion does not mean focusing our concentration on a particular object or keeping a non-judgmental awareness of the present-moment experience, but on the cultivation of specific emotions and attitudes such as openness, kindness, gentleness, warmth etc. that ultimately lead to individual and collective flourishing, to foster a deep, genuine, authentic, and embodied empathic concern in the face of suffering, together with a committed intention to ease all kinds of suffering. This paper provides an overview of theory and self-compassion and its link to psychological wellbeing. It will discuss what self-compassion is and the common misunderstanding of self-compassion, then provide empirical evidence to support these distinctions, and explore two sides of self-compassion (Yin and Yang) what the core practices are in MSC program. The practice of compassion and self-compassion can impact our emotions and enhance our capacity to face difficulties and challenging situations in our life. If one reduces self-criticism, self-denial, self-blaming, self-judgment, fully accepting the imperfect self as it is, it will definitely increase one’s psychological wellbeing and happiness.