Fall Well-Being and Resilience Series 2: Compassion, Empathy, and Pursuing Kindness to Ourselves

This is part of a four-part series on the third Thursday monthly at 3pm from September through December, 2022.

Objectives: Explore how compassion for others and for ourselves can support our well-being through an exploration of research and practices.

Content: Revisit our neurobiological response to threats and stress through the lens of self-compassion as a way of disrupting our fight, flight, and freeze response with self-kindness, common humanity, and mindful awareness. Explore the differences between empathy and compassion and how the pro-social emotion of compassion is generative towards our well-being. Look at how mirror neurons operate and amplify emotions around us with a focus on how calm is just as contagious as fear and anxiety.

Take Away: Getting stuck in the experience of empathy while engaging in critical work of providing care for people and their families experiencing health challenges can lead to burnout. Supporting the growth of self-compassion will promote folks’ ability to stay engaged with patients, families, and the broader community during challenging exchanges.