These 4 Rules of Life May Help if You’re an Empath

How to Practice More Self Compassion

When a person cuts you off while driving, what is the initial reaction. Is it to let them speed off or show them what you really think. Coming out of confrontation with a level head is hard but it takes compassion in action.  Self compassion is a learned behavior that needs cultivating and takes time. Learn some tips to practice self compassion.

Pause

Putting a beat between you and your reaction allows space to introduce the first step in responding to a situation with compassion. Take a moment to pause and consider the other person’s perspective or side on an issue. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Know that, no matter what, under the circumstances, they are doing the best with what they have in the moment.

Breathe

Once you pause to delay reaction and introduce understanding, bring attention inward. Take a breath and notice the sensation in your body. Allow that sensation to rise and fall before you bring yourself to the heartspace and acknowledge not only what people are doing but also that they are trying to truly help. Recognizing when you also feel triggered can be difficult but a good thing to do as you breathe into it and not let it overtake you. Meditation can be useful but breathing in and out may not be enough. Try to focus on inhaling an intention (love, strength, peace) before exhaling out the trigger, thoughts, and negative emotions.

Check Yourself

When we are triggered externally, two things happen. We end up merging with that person in their pain and we may be activated by them in that they do something to trigger us like being irritating or something like this. Neither is healthy as, in both cases, we lose the ability to hold space for the other person. Checking yourself is recognizing the impact a person’s action has on you. When you own the impact, you gain clarity on what happened and the story you created around it. Draw a clear line between those two things and understand what is going on. Notice what is true and find the differences between the action and impact which creates a distinction between fact and emotional impact incited by the story.

Remember the Iceberg

At any moment, only a quarter of the moment’s entirety is revealed. Three-quarters of an experience is withheld, meaning everything is like an iceberg. There is only so much revealed to you in that moment. The tantric philosophy sees it as rahasya, or within concealed space is an opportunity to cultivate empathy. You don’t know what you don’t know as the saying goes, and what you don’t know drops you into the heart and creates connection with understanding there is much under the surface.

There is much to learn and know as you grow in recovery. Continue the journey of remaining open to all this life can provide for you in the way of seeking healing space and hope after addiction. Self compassion will come, little by little, with intentional acts of love and self kindness.

The Palmetto Center is based on a Therapeutic Communty model. We help people learn how to live free of addiction. Our community support provides structure while trained counselors offer life skills training and therapeutic techniques to help you move past addiction. Our program provides special focus for professionals including chiropractors, nurses, doctors, lawyers, and more who need help with addiction recovery. Call us to find out more: 866-848-3001.