Dr. Josh King welcomes you to another episode and a new season of The Beyond Addiction Show which comes with a new format to deliver the best interviews with leaders in the field of mental health and substance use disorders.

Today, Dr. King is accompanied by Dr. Christopher Germer, the co-author of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive, and a leader in the field of self-compassion therapy. Dr. King and Dr. Germer dive deeply into the subject of self-compassion in the midst of a global pandemic and how it is now more important than ever to be compassionate to ourselves.

 

Key Takeaways:

[2:50] Why is the pandemic the right moment for more self-compassion?

[5:01] We haven’t been taught to love ourselves.

[6:11] We are not instinctively kind to ourselves; we need to learn.

[6:53] Dr. Germer talks about the evolutionary aspect of our lack of self-compassion.

[9:03] How is COVID-19 triggering our threat and nervous systems?

[11:28] Living with uncertainty.

[12:20] Dr. Germer talks about Zoom fatigue.

[15:01] What is self-compassion? How can you be more compassionate to yourself?

[19:20] How can self-compassion help to choose better daily habits?

[23:45] How to begin paying more attention to what you need to feel and choose better?

[28:20] Shame is not a motivator!

[29:40] Start self-compassion by first connecting and then motivating through encouragement.

[32:31] How can you use self-compassion against the tendency to look for the instant gratification drugs and alcohol offer?

[36:35] How can you get out of the cycle of using substances to avoid feeling terrible and then feeling shame for doing it? Begin to BE KIND to YOURSELF!

[41:10] Dr. Germer talks about being in the process of writing a book about shame.

 

Mentioned in this Episode:

The Beyond Addiction Show 

Center for Motivation and Change

Center for Motivation and Change on Facebook

Center for Motivation and Change on Twitter

Center for Motivation and Change on Linkedin

Email Dr. Josh King at [email protected]  or tweet him at @DocJoshKing

The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive, Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer

Center for Mindful and Self Compassion