Psychology Month is celebrated every February to highlight the contributions of Canadian psychologists and to show Canadians how psychology works to help – people live healthy and happy lives, their communities flourish, their employers create better workplaces, and their governments develop effective policies. ~Canadian Psychological Association

Our psychological health is important to our families and communities – but first and foremost it’s important to ourselves.

Even before COVID many of us managing complex and chronic illnesses were facing significant challenges to our psychological health and safety.

Some of us were very much struggling, because mental health supports aren’t accessible equally to Canadians without the financial means or private health insurance.

I think it’s important to acknowledge this before moving on.  While I find the self-compassion information helpful now, I didn’t always.

Self-help can be powerful but we aren’t all in a place where we can make use of the information. When something doesn’t resonate with you, then know that that’s OK.

Regardless of your situation, I hope this tool proves useful.

Self-Compassion During Psychology Month

Dr. Kristin Neff has written a book and done a TEDx talk on self-compassion. She explains self-compassion like this:

Instead of mercilessly judging and criticizing yourself for various inadequacies or shortcomings, self-compassion means you are kind and understanding when confronted with personal failings – after all, who ever said you were supposed to be perfect?  ~Dr. Kristin Neff

It’s different from self-esteem.  Self-compassion focusses more on how you speak to and treat yourself rather than how you feel about yourself.

This isn’t about letting yourself ‘off the hook’ or rationalizing poor behaviour, it’s about understanding yourself and being realistic in your response to your thoughts and behaviours.