Self-compassion for caregivers

The holiday season has always been a favourite time of year for me. I’m one of the lucky ones who has fond childhood memories of the holiday season and much to be grateful for as an adult. At the same time, however, the holidays are often a time when I’m in particular need of self-compassion. In a good year (and I’m sure we would all agree that 2020 has NOT been a good year!) the holiday season brings increased demands for mental health services, longer work hours, and increased susceptibility to my inner critic when I’m unable to ease the pain of clients to the point that I feel I “should”.

The pandemic has, of course, brought another element into the holiday season that has no doubt touched us all. The demand for mental health services has grown exponentially and families are now struggling to find ways to keep the holiday season alive in the midst of public health restrictions that will create a holiday season like none other. Like for many others, the pandemic also created additional caregiving responsibilities for me outside my professional life.

As my inner critic’s voice started getting louder (I swear she got her hands on a megaphone!) and my holiday spirit dwindled, I decided it was time to hit the pause button. So I took a few days off from all my caregiving responsibilities, reconnected with the joyful parts of the holiday season that were immune to COVID, and went in search of my - sometimes elusive - self-compassion. I was reminded of Kristin Neff’s self-compassion for caregivers exercise and knew that’s exactly where I could find the self-compassion that would silence my inner critic.

Are you in need of some self-compassion? Check out Kristin Neff’s 9-minute self-compassion for caregivers meditation.