How you feel
Being hard on yourself?
That harsh inner voice can be loud. These self-compassion tools help you speak to yourself the way you'd speak to someone you love.
See suggestions for feeling self-critical in the app.
Talk to yourself like a friend
Ask yourself: if a friend felt like this, what would I say to them? Then say it to yourself, slowly. Hand on Heart breathing and Hands of Kindness are good places to start.
Notice the good
Self-criticism tends to forget everything that went right. Writing one small win in the Gratitude Jar each day helps balance the scales.
Breathing exercises for feeling self-critical
- Hand on HeartRest a hand on your chest. Breathe in kindness, breathe out the harsh inner voice.
- Even WavesSlow, even breaths at about six a minute. Balancing and quietly restorative.
- Kindness BreathPair each breath with a kind phrase. Gentle medicine for a harsh inner voice.
- Equal BreathIn for six, out for six. Balanced, grounding and quietly restorative.
- Heart CoherenceSlow, even breathing with your attention resting on your heart and a warm feeling of appreciation.
Guided relaxations
- Leaves on a StreamLet thoughts float by without chasing them
- Hands of KindnessOffer yourself the comfort you would give a friend
- A Note to Your Younger SelfReconnect with the part of you that needed kindness
- The Healing LakeFloat in warm, still water and let everything soften
- Fireside Letting GoOffer your worries to a warm, crackling fire
- Your Safe PlaceBuild a calm place in your mind you can return to any time
Kind words
You are allowed to restYou do not have to earn rest. You are allowed to stop, simply because you are tired.
Enough, as you areYou are not behind. You are not too much. You are exactly where you are, and that is a fine place to start.
Speak to yourself kindlyWould you talk to someone you love the way you've been talking to yourself? You deserve that same gentleness.
Progress, not perfectionSmall steps still move you forward. A wobbly step is still a step.