← Your Anxiety Toolkit - Practical Skills for Anxiety, Panic & Depression
Your Anxiety Toolkit - Practical Skills for Anxiety, Panic & Depression
492 How to Practice Loving‑Kindness for Yourself: A Guided Self‑Compassion Exercise
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If your best friend came to you and said, I am such an idiot. I cannot believe I made this mistake again, I am a failure, what would you say to them? You would not agree. You would soften towards them and you would say, that is not true. You are doing the best you can and I'm proud of you for trying. Now, I want you to think about the last time you were struggling. What did you say to yourself? My guess is it sounded nothing like what you would say to your best friend or to a loved one. Here is what research tells us about this gap. The way you talk to yourself about your struggles is what is making your anxiety worse. Self compassion is not just a nice idea. It's one of the core components of lasting, consistent recovery. And today I'm going to show you exactly how to practice it. This guided loving kindness exercise is specific, specifically designed for us anxious folks. My love, I know how hard you are trying and you deserve to have yourself on your own side. So let's do this together. Okay? So take a breath and find a comfortable position. Allow your body to settle into the support beneath you. If it feels comfortable, gently close your eyes. Take a slow breath in and a long, slow breath out. Again, breathing in and simply breathing out. Allow the shoulders to soften. Allow the jaw to relax. Allow yourself to arrive here. There is nowhere else you are needed. You're here right now. And allow yourself to simply be here and simply just be. Now I want you to take one more slow, gentle breath and allow yourself to settle into this moment. Now I want to bring yourself into your awareness. Perhaps seeing yourself just sitting here, just as you are today. Not the version of you that has everything figured out. Not the version of you that you think you should be. Just simply you. And as you hold yourself in your awareness, you're gonna silently offer yourself these words. May I be safe, may I be peaceful, may I be healthy, and may I live with ease. So let's say those statements again. May I be safe, may I be peaceful, may I be healthy, and may I live with ease. Allow these wishes to gently wash over you. I now want you to bring to mind someone you care about deeply. Someone who naturally brings warmth to your heart. I want you to picture them sitting before you and you're noticing their face, their humanity, their joys and their struggles. And together we're going to offer them. May you be safe, may you be peaceful, may you be healthy and may you live with ease. Allow these wishes to be received be by them. And now gently bring your attention inward. I'D love if you could see if you can notice the part of you that feels afraid, the part of you that worries, the part of you that is constantly focused on what could or could not go wrong, the part of you that's trying so hard to keep you safe. You don't need to make that part of you go away. You don't need to fix it. You're just going to simply allow this scared part to be here, perhaps imagining it sitting beside you, perhaps as a younger version of you, and holding this scared part with tenderness, and then offering these words. Thank you for trying to keep me safe. May you rest and learn that you can trust me. Now as you know I have a private practice. I have six amenities Amazing therapists in Calabasas, California. However, we do not take insurance. Now if you are looking for insurance covered OCD or BFRB treatment, I want to let you know about nocd. NOCD provides face to face live video sessions with specialized licensed OCD therapists. Now their therapists use Exposure and Response Prevention. We know this is the gold standard for ocd, so you can be absolutely confirmed that you're in the right place there. And they have a clinically proven app that helps you stay connected to your therapist and others who have OCD between sessions so you'll always feel supported. Now the cool thing is NOCD is available in all 50 US states and even internationally and they accept most insurance plans making it affordable and accessible. More. We love that. Now if you think you might have OCD or you're struggling to manage your symptoms, you can book a free call. Just click the link in the show notes@nocd.com I am honored to partner with NOCD. I want to remind you that recovery is possible. Please do not forget that. Now big hugs and let's get back to the show. May you find ease and learn that we do not have to be perfect. May you feel loved and learn that we are always worthy of love and compassion. And again, let's do it again. For that part of you that's so scared, may you offer that part these words thank you for trying to keep me safe. May you rest and learn that you can trust me. May you find ease and learn that we do not need to be perfect. May you feel loved and learn that we are always worthy of love and compassion. And now allowing this fearful part to be held in kindness just as it is. And now I want you to allow your awareness to expand beyond yourself now to all the people in this moment who are also carrying fear. The people lying awake at night, the people struggling with with uncertainty, the people facing illness, the people feeling alone, the people questioning whether they can cope. Holding them gently in your heart and offering May you all be safe, may we all be peaceful, may we all be healthy, may we all live with ease. And again, may we all be safe, may we all have peace, may we all be healthy, and may we all live with ease. Now I want you to bring your attention back to your breath, feeling the rise and fall of your body, taking in a slow breath and one slow breath out. And let's offer ourselves one final wish for ourselves. May I meet whatever comes today with kindness. And when you're ready, you can open your eyes. I'm so proud of you for doing this with me. We have an entire meditation vault@cbtschool.com please do head over to CBT school if that's helpful or you will find a link in the show Notes. As always, you guys continue to impress me with your courage and offerings and it is such a pleasure to be here with you today. As always, it is a beautiful day to do hard things and I'll see you next week. Please note that this podcast or any other resources from CBTSchool.com should not replace professional mental health care. If you feel you would benefit, please reach out to a provider in your area. Have a wonderful day and thank you for supporting CBTSchool.com.