Why is self-compassion so hard?

“Self-Compassion sounds like a good thing until we practice applying it.” Does this ring true for anyone?

Why is self-compassion so difficult for so many people? Spring 2019 Presenter Deirdre Fay answers:

People are hesitant or resistant to self-compassion because we’re afraid of two things. One, it won’t work or make a difference, so Why Bother? Two, we’re often afraid of becoming more vulnerable, that self-compassion will cause us to feel the suffering even more. Protecting ourselves from self compassion is often yet another way we try to buffer ourselves from pain.

In this video, Deirdre breaks down a THIRD reason why self-compassion can be hard: sometimes, we are so unused to feeling reassurance and compassion that we are not wired to receive these emotions. Our neural circuits just hit “Does not compute!” This video is a long one at 10 minutes and change, but in it, Deidre discusses how to use images in order to address this conundrum:

Deirdre Fay explores how to facilitate self-compassion as a foundation for healing in her upcoming workshop Easing the Wounded Heart (May 13-14).