SELF COMPASSION, SELF LOATHING, AFFECT REGULATION & MENTAL / PHYSICAL HEALTH

            A recent study released by the American Psychological Association’s Health Psychology, studied 3,252 people to determine whether self-compassion promotes mental and physical health. The result was that self-compassion, defined as “taking a kind, compassionate, and accepting stance toward oneself during difficult times (Neff, 2003)” (Sirois & Kitner, 2015, p. 661).

 

            Neff operationalized his definition of self-compassion by focusing on three states of mind:

 

[1] self-kindness—extending kindness and understanding to oneself rather than harsh judgment and self-criticism, [2] common humanity—seeing one’s experiences as part of the larger human experience rather than seeing them as separating and isolating, and  

[3] mindfulness—holding one’s painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness rather than over-identifying with them.” (p. 89)

 

            There’s a Catch 22[1] here. Self-compassion does not come naturally for those of us who may have grown up with rejection, abuse or neglect. Schwartz and Begley (2002) described the neurobiological basis for that deep sense of shame as a product of an error message which get wired into the putamen and caudate nucleus (reward pathway) in response to early environmental deprivation of love and nurture through abuse and neglect.

 

            This error message (called the OCD circuit) then shoots out error messages to the orbital frontal cortex (which is a key area for the processing of social relations) and to the anterior cingulate gyrus, cingulate gyrus and the sensory motor cortex (what Van der Kolk, 2014, has called the Mohawk of consciousness). Hence, this error message leads to a deep sense of defectiveness or shame to the depths of one’s sense of self. This may be the biological basis of St. Augustine’s (2013) famous statement that “Our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee.” (p. 26, Book 1, Chapter 1)

 

(Schwartz & Begley, 2002, p. 63)

 

            Linehan’s (1993) proposed a concept called radical acceptance for this problem. Linehan (1993) recognized the state of the research in 1983 when she published her book, Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. She wrote that although her theory was “in accord with the known literature on BPD, no research has been mounted so far to test the theory prospectively… [Her etiological formulation was] based largely on clinical observation and speculation rather than on firm empirical experimentation.” (p. 65) That has changed and her emphasis on emotional dysregulation as a central feature of BPD being linked to a “diathesis-stress model” which formulates the development of a disorder as a confluence of a “biological predisposition” and an “invalidating environment” in childhood 

 

One of the most important things a client can do when it comes to stress / distress involves “accepting, finding meaning for, and tolerating” it. (Linehan, 1993a, p. 96) In a sense what is being done here is “learning to bear pain skillfully.” (Ibid) This form of acceptance is quite radical:

 

Essentially, distress tolerance is the ability to perceive one’s environment without putting demands on it to be different, to experience your current emotional state without attempting to change it, and oobserve you own thoughts and action patterws without attempting to stop or control them…. Acceptance of reality is not equivalent to approval of reality. (Linehan, 1993, p. 148; and 1993a, p. 96)

 

References

 

Augustine, St., (2013). The Confessions of St. Augustine. Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics     Ethereal Library. (original publication, circa 397 CE)

 

Heller, J. (2011). Catch-22. New York: Simon & Schuster. Retrieved from Scribd.com

 

Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

 

Linehan, M. M. (1993a). Skills training manual for treating borderline personality disorder. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

 

Neff, K. (2003). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and identity, 2(2), 85-101.

 

Schwartz, J. M., & Begley, S. (2002). The mind and the brain: Neuroplasticity and the power of    mental force. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

 

Sirois, F. M., Kitner, R., & Hirsch, J. K. (2015). Self-compassion, affect, and health-promoting behaviors. Health Psychology, 34(6), 661-669. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hea0000158

 

Terry, M. L., & Leary, M. R. (2011). Self-compassion, self-regulation, and health. Self and Identity, 10(3), 352-362.

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[1] Heller (2011) wrote:

 

“You mean there’s a catch?’

 

“Sure there’s a catch,” Doc Daneeka replied. “Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of

combat duty isn’t really crazy.”

 

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety is the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind…. Orr [another pilot in Yossarian’s unit] was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more mission. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

 

“That’s some catch, that Catch-22,’ he observed.”

 

“It’s the best there is,” Doc Daneeka agreed. (pp. 82-83)