Member Appreciation Week Event Post

Member Appreciation Week: Team Theme: Compassion and Acceptance

This theme represents how we are all deserving of compassion, not only from others, but from ourselves. Part of being able to show compassion to ourselves is to be able to accept ourselves for who and how we are, not to feel stuck or trapped in the now, but to be able to fully acknowledge where we are in life in order to be able to work on moving forward.

Hello support plus-ers! Our team is so excited for Member Appreciation week during this Month of Mental Health Awareness . In this post, we will be focusing on the Compassion and Acceptance Theme. I’m sure that we can all agree these are two incredibly relevant topics.

We are all deserving of compassion from ourselves and others. Increases in self-compassion have been found to correlate with a decrease in psychiatric symptoms, interpersonal problems and personality pathology (Schanche et al. 2011). It also promotes healthy self-esteem. There’s no quick fix, but practicing self-compassion regularly can gradually eliminate self-critical and self-loathing habits.

Correlated with self-compassion is self-acceptance. Dr. Russell Grieger, PH.D, a Psychiatrist that is well known for leading Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) defined self-acceptance as, “You accept that, as a fallible human being, you are less than perfect. You will often perform well, but you will also err at times… You always and unconditionally accept yourself without judgment”. In other words, you would know you have a healthy self-acceptance when you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses and comfortable being who you are. The better you are able to accept yourself, the less your need for external approval.

Another Part of being able to show compassion to ourselves is to not to feel stuck or trapped in the now. This can feel hard to do but it is possible. Sometimes we’re hard on ourselves when we feel stuck. Once we become aware that we are feeling or thinking this way, it may be a good idea to take time to do some things, even small things, differently. Maybe walking outside for a few minutes, listening to a favorite type of music, making a favorite treat, or anything that you enjoy can show yourself compassion and maybe help you feel less stuck in the now.

The last step in our theme says to be able to fully acknowledge where we are in life in order to be able to work on moving forward. So trying to accept where you are today, or even in this moment, is the first step. That step can mean being able to say, “okay, this is my situation right now”. It can also mean being able to say, “but I won’t always be in this situation. Things can change.” Showing compassion to yourself, or others, can mean having hope that the future can be even better than today.

This week is a celebration of you, our wonderful members! We are so glad that you are here with us during this special event! We hope that we all can look for ways to show compassion and acceptance to ourselves, as well as others, equally. If you would like to read more on the Compassion and Acceptance Theme, you can click the link to each of the other teams who are providing information as well:

Disability Support Bipolar, Schizophrenia & Psychosis Support Mindfulness Center Positivity & Gratitude

Click HERE to participate in other Member Appreciation Week events.

Click HERE to follow the trail to the next post on Compassion and Acceptance.

Finally, an activity for you all to join in:

What’s your favorite fruit?

What color is your toothbrush?

The last book that you read, was it: hardcover, paperback on e-file?

Interested in following the Support Plus Community? Join our Tag List HERE

~ Sher