Be Kind to Yourself (my thoughts from CNN)

Last month I had the great pleasure of speaking with Jocelyn Solis-Moreira with CNN about kindness as she developed this delightful article: How to be kinder to yourself, according to science.

I shared several tips about how to take care of your mental health including:

Work to get rid of your negative self-talk.

Dr. Catherine Franssen, an associate professor of psychology at Longwood University in Virginia, said it will take time — about two months —to train your brain to undo the habit of talking negatively to yourself. The more we train our brain to practice showing kindness to ourselves, the easier it will be to silence the inner critic once and for all.

Practice positive self-talk and empathy for yourself.

Your inner critic is living rent-free in your mind, but you can take control of your headspace through mindfulness and meditation practices. Franssen recommended loving-kindness meditation, a guided practice where words and imagery are used to boost positive emotions and compassion toward the self.

“It’s as simple as spending 10 minutes of your lunch break to walk outside and listen to a meditation podcast,” Franssen explained. When combined with cognitive behavioral therapy (a form of talk therapy that teaches you to identify and change negative thoughts and behaviors), loving-kindness meditation can activate brain areas involved in emotion processing and empathy. That activation may explain the reduction in stress and boost in positive emotions. “All of these things are going to increase your sense of well-being and improve your ability to feel and think kindly,” said Franssen.

It is one of my great pleasures in life to share the science of everyday life with broader audiences, such as readers of CNN. I hope these tips help you think about taking care of YOU!