Why Courage is Needed for Self-Compassion
Bravery, Courage, and the Importance of Self-Compassion
As a kid growing up, one of my all-time favorite movies was The Wizard of Oz. I can remember being instantly attracted to the Cowardly Lion. Then there was the television show The Care Bears and I remember instantly loving Brave Heart Lion too.
As a lot of little kids are, I think I was just attracted to animals, and kitties in particular (big or small).
As I’ve gotten older, I still love the classic The Wizard of Oz and the Cowardly Lion. However, I think of both of these characters differently and more than just being cool cats.
Looking back, I was an anxious child myself and nobody knew. The outward appearance of these characters is what I loved, but now I can take a step back and recognize how courage and bravery are both important and one of the antidotes to anxiety. So deep down maybe I knew I wanted those qualities and it was what I needed (along with a kitten for Christmas of course).
Courage and bravery are not only important when it comes to experiencing anxiety, like in my story, but also with depression, fear, and growth and learning.
Courage is also really important when it comes to providing ourselves with self-compassion.
Looking back, that anxious little girl didn’t know about what was happening on the inside and she didn’t understand the impact of being kind to herself when she made a mistake. Now as an adult, those moments still flare up (because there is no perfection no matter how hard one tries) and I try to take a gentler approach to myself.
But it first started with some understanding and a brave step forward.
Self-compassion is important and needed but often overlooked and ignored.
In this blog, I’m sharing with you 6 reasons why self-compassion can be challenging.
I am an online therapist in Wilmington, NC, and provide anxiety treatment for high-achieving women in North Carolina and Maryland experiencing perfectionism and burnout.
Ready to start therapy and improve self-compassion? Click the button below to reserve your free 15-minute consultation on the date and time of your choice.
Keep reading to read more about why self-compassion is challenging.
6 Reasons Why Self-Compassion Takes Courage
Having the courage to bring in self-compassion can be challenging for so many reasons, yet it is so important. Self-compassion plays an important role in the healing process.
Listed below are some of the top reasons why self-compassion is challenging and requires courage to lean into the idea of treating ourselves kinder and gentler.
Reason #1 Self-Compassion Takes Courage: It’s Difficult to Accept Our Own Help
Chances are you are good at being there and providing support to others. You might be the friend everyone calls when they have a problem or need support.
But when it comes to you needing the support, you check out.
Not only do you check out, but chances are also you make it 10 times harder on yourself by listening to the negative thoughts and believing them. You “should” on yourself and in the end create a deeper hole than you may have already felt you were in.
Being able to offer self-compassion can help you not get stuck, discontinue beating yourself up, and lend a helping hand to get up and out of that hole, you made deeper.
Reason #2 Self-Compassion Takes Courage: Being a Perfectionist or High Achiever
Holding yourself to a high standard or having a fear of failure can make self-compassion challenging.
Accepting and allowing yourself to make mistakes or to not be the person everyone thinks you are or “should be” takes a lot of courage. Making room to acknowledge and accept these things is a form of self-compassion.
Reason #3 Self-Compassion Takes Courage: It Can be Scary
It’s really easy to avoid the scary and uncomfortable stuff. There is a lot of vulnerability that comes with self-compassion. Experiencing the discomfort of doing something new and unfamiliar is growth and takes courage.
Reason #4 Self-Compassion Takes Courage: You Don’t Know How To Be Self-Compassionate
When I talk with clients about the importance of self-compassion, this is easily one of the top concerns. Like with most things, learning a new skill may not come easy at first but leaning into the openness to try is important.
There are many different ways to start introducing self-compassion. Most often I encourage clients to start with recognizing how they would respond to a friend or loved one experiencing the same thing they are and inviting them to respond to themself similarly.
Reason #5 Self-Compassion Takes Courage: It Doesn’t Seem That Important
Self-compassion can easily get pushed to the bottom of the list of important things. Most often when a new client starts therapy, one of the goals they identify is wanting better self-esteem. I and the client typically have some conversations about what this means exactly but often it comes down to self-care and self-compassion.
Making an effort to see the importance of self-compassion and ultimately being open to allowing self-compassion is a big and brave step.
Reason #6 Self-Compassion Takes Courage: Do I Deserve Self-Compassion?
If you grew up in a home where you were not treated compassionately or didn’t have compassion modeled to you, this might be a question you ask yourself frequently. Understandably, learning that you deserve to treat yourself more kindly and gently may be a big mindset shift, and then putting it into practice is even bigger. All of this is self-compassion. All of this takes courage and bravery.
The reasons listed above make it difficult to offer yourself self-compassion but that doesn’t have to stop you from being courageous and trying. Learn how you can start to build and boost self-compassion.
Start Anxiety Therapy in Wilmington, NC at Calm Waters Counseling
Self-compassion is important whether you are experiencing challenges related to your mental health or the run-of-the-mill everyday problems. The truth is offering yourself and building self-compassion is not easy and almost always brings forth the bravery and courage to try.
I use ACT for anxiety treatment. Self-compassion is one of the core parts of acceptance and commitment therapy.
Learn more about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and how it can be helpful for you.
Get started in therapy at Calm Waters Counseling by following these 4 simple steps:
Click the button below to schedule your free 15-minute consultation
Complete the brief questionnaire sent to your email before the consultation
Meet with your online therapist
Start living your life with more self-compassion
Therapy for High Achieving Women in Wilmington, NC at Calm Waters Counseling
Learn more about me and what additional therapy services my Wilmington, NC counseling practice has to offer.
I work with anxious go-getter women that seem to be stuck. Maybe your anxiety is getting in the way and you feel stuck or you’re experiencing feeling worn down and depleted.
Check out all services at Calm Waters Counseling, listed below:
Anxiety therapy in Wilmington, NC
Treatment for Perfectionism in Maryland
Burnout Counseling in Wilmington, NC
Therapy for Imposter Syndrome in Wilmington, NC
Online Therapy for Anxiety in North Carolina
Using online therapy for anxiety treatment has a lot of benefits and busy high achievers find it to be a helpful tool to keep up with taking care of their mental well-being as well as utilizing the flexibility online therapy has to offer.
There is not a lot that changes when using online therapy and the acceptance and commitment therapy model for treatment purposes.
Check out this blog post on using online therapy with ACT.
If you are interested in receiving online therapy services, click the links below to learn about online therapy where you live.
online therapy for anxiety in North Carolina
online anxiety therapy in Maryland
Still, have questions? Click the buttons below to learn even more!
Written by: Laura Rippeon, LCSW, LCSW-C
Updated 3/17/23