Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Go easy on yourself...

Being a self critical person who rarely gets off his own case,  I was considerably softened by a Sarah Parker-Pope article in this morning's Science section of the NYTimes on:
...a burgeoning new area of psychological research called self-compassion — how kindly people view themselves...The research suggests that giving ourselves a break and accepting our imperfections may be the first step toward better health. People who score high on tests of self-compassion have less depression and anxiety, and tend to be happier and more optimistic. Preliminary data suggest that self-compassion can even influence how much we eat and may help some people lose weight.
The article contains links to several original research papers.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:26 PM

    Yes, but how "successful" are self-compassionate people?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous5:35 AM

    I wouldn't have thought it would make a difference. But I'd rather spend my life happy and relaxed but perhaps not as successful, than depressed and anxious but successful. Otherwise, what's the point in 'success'.

    ReplyDelete