What I majorly take away after reading the book
- Time travel already exists. Our brain can travel to the past and transport itself to the future. We can live in agony rueing the past and in anxiety anticipating the future. But there can only be here and there can only be now · there is only here and there is only now.
- You can be in pain but you don’t have to suffer.
These are one of those profound insights that blow you away and they make those brain exploding memes about. Cue brain explosion sounds.
What I thought about when I read the book
The book takes the reader through a beautiful tour of how we can generate some self-compassion by recognizing the commonality of our experience · the shared human experience, how we reap the benefits of self-compassion by unlocking the gift of emotional resilience and how we can indulge in some self-appreciation and not be bogged down by the constant self-criticism we engage in.
Parents do have it tough. They have to be careful about not coddling their child. I have been the product of tough parenting. So when a friend’s grandmother kissed my forehead and extended a kind, “You must be so scared, here, let me give you a hug” after I had a minor vehicular accident, I was taken aback. I felt flushed with love. You see, I scold myself, as my parents would, in situations where I have clumsily blundered. The idea that one should offer kindness to the self, feels very novel to me.
Self-compassion, I find isn’t a natural occurrence. There have been countless times when I have told myself, “How stupid can you be, you worthless piece of ****”. But never has my inner voice said, “This has been a difficult day, I am sorry you had to go through that. You poor baby, I love you.” How curious, we expect sympathy and empathy from the people around us but we don’t offer ourselves any.
On my journey to a better mental health · a better brain health if you will, this book is proving to be an important transformational tool. I am more mindful of how I communicate with myself · mindful doesn’t mean I don’t engage in self-criticism anymore, I just recognize it quicker. That’s especially helpful during panic and anxiety attacks since your mind spirals down a rabbit hole in seconds. Learning to comfort yourself through the process decreases the amount of struggle by a scintilla everyday. When learning to thrive with depression and anxiety, I believe you want to be able to equip yourself with and set up as many support systems as possible. Because it’s never just one thing that heals.
Allow me to offer the reader a little compassion today · You may be going through a rough time but know that you are loved, you are safe, you are strong · catch you soon.
Why I picked up this book
This book has a special place in my heart. My best friend, who lives about 8000 miles away from me, sent it to me when I was struggling with self-esteem after my initial rounds of diagnosis of clinical depression, anxiety and adult ADHD. A couple of years ago, when I had my first encounters with destructive thoughts and couldn’t muster the courage to get help, she visited a psychotherapist on my behalf, to help me out! This was a similar gesture. · I know you’re reading this, I love you!