10/31/2019 My own journey with compassion Cultivate Compassion for - PDF document

10/31/2019 My own journey with compassion Cultivate Compassion for Wellbeing: Recent Research and Practical Strategies Holly Hatton ‐ Bowers, PhD October 30 th , 2019 In adulthood, while resilient in some ways, suffering My Adverse personally and professionally Childhood Events – Before the age of 5, had experienced 6 adverse childhood experiences. – Also very caring adult caregivers My “soothing system” – Teachers was imbalanced – In adolescence a strong social network of trusted people, compassionate people – High on resilience – (e.g., learn valuable lessons from rough experiences, adapt to difficult or challenging life experiences, supportive others). ACE Score Prevalence for CDC ‐ Kaiser ACE Study Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kaiser Permanente. The ACE Study Survey Data. Adapted from Gilbert, P. (2009). The Compassionate Mind: A New Approach to Life’s Challenges. Mindfulness to shift into more moments Mindfulness and compassion helped me of safety and connection move from a place of surviving to thriving, it helped balance my safeness or soothing system. • "Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose , in the Image credit: Pixaby.com present moment , and non ‐ judgmentally " ‐ Jon Kabat ‐ Zinn • “Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention here and now, with kindness and curiosity , so that we can choose our behavior.” – Dr. Amy Saltzman Image Credit Pixaby 1

10/31/2019 M i M i nd ndf ul ul ness ss i s s t hough hou ght of of as as i nt nt ent ent i onal onal “ and and non- non- j udgm udgm ent ent al al pr pr esent ent - m o m om e m ent aw awar ar eness. ss. Th Thi s s ki ki nd nd of of aw awar ar enes eness m ean eans we we ar ar e e pur pur po posef ul ul l y y pay payi ng ng at at t ent ent i on on t o o what hat i s s happe happeni ng ng ar ar ound nd us us, what hat i s s happeni happe ng ng i ns nsi de de us, us what hat we we ar ar e e doi doi ng, ng and and how how we we ar ar e e doi doi ng ng and and G r G r aphi aph c c Ti Ti t l e f eel eel i ng ng wi wi t hout hout j udgi udgi ng ng or or anal anal yzi yzi ng. ng. ” Image Credit Pixaby It is an open and non-judgmental awareness that you can bring to each moment. With mindful practice, it is possible to develop more kindness, awareness and resilience in your life (Srinivasan 2014). What do you notice? – coming Compassion back to our senses Go around in a circle • First what do you see ? Everyone state something they see • Rooted in wise, courageous • What do you hear ? Everyone state something they hear action – Paul Gilbert • What do you smell ? Everyone state something they smell • Act of courage to turn toward suffering, toward the • What do you feel ? Everyone state something they feel, difficulty – Jack Kornfield physically or emotionally. 2016 Roffey Park Institute, Compassion in the workplace Compassion it a Trainable Skill Four our ke key y as aspec pect s • Paying attention to the experience in the present moment – You can learn it • Relating to the experience without judgement or – You can teach it resisting (acceptance) • – You can share it, pass it Relating to the experiencer with the desire to alleviate on! suffering • Adopting a caring attitude towards the self and others “Heartfulness” (Voci et al., 2019) Image Credit Pixaby 2

10/31/2019 Mindfulness, Stress, and Burnout Decrease stress, anxiety, Expand our capacity for depressive symptoms perspective taking • Among pediatric residents, mindfulness and self ‐ compassion significantly associated with lower stress and confidence to use compassionate care (Kemper et al., 2019) Increase workplace Enhanced emotion regulation • Among early education educators, an 8 ‐ week MBI significantly engagement related to reduced burnout, stress, and increased Research mindfulness, sleep quality and perceived control at work Shows… (Hatton ‐ Bowers et al., 2018) • MBI’s associated with positive well ‐ being and negatively Healthier and more Improve focus and associated with stress, depression and anxiety among health positive work attentional awareness care professionals (Lomas et al., 2019) environment • Among pediatric ICU nurses who participated in a brief MBI there were significant decrease in stress irrespective of meditation experience (Gauthier et al., 2015) Image Credit Pixaby M indfulness Emotional Regulation Skills M indfulness Attentional Awareness • In a systematic review, mindfulness ‐ based • Among teachers, mindfulness practices interventions have moderate effects in improving associated with an increased awareness of body emotion regulation of teachers (Emerson et al., 2017) sensations, thoughts, and emotions (Hwang et a., 2017) • Among early care and education teachers, an 8 ‐ week • Increased awareness for stepping back from mindfulness ‐ based intervention reduces emotion automatic habitual reactions was one of the most dysregulation (Hatton ‐ Bowers et al, 2019) significant predictors for predicting workplace engagement and psychological well ‐ being • Emotional self ‐ efficacy and psychological flexibility (Mainowski & Lim, 2015) increases among social workers who participated in a 8 ‐ week mindfulness training course (Kinman et al., 2019) • Acceptance important for MBI’s effect on emotion Image Credit Pixaby Image Credit Pixaby regulation (Lindsay & Creswell, 2019). M indfulness, Perspective Taking, & Relationships M indfulness and Self ‐ Compassion • Mindfulness positively associated with perspective taking • Self ‐ compassion significantly associated with with children who have challenging behaviors among psychological health and reduced stress among preschool teachers (Jennings, 2015) educators (Flook et al., 2013; Hwang et al., 2019) • Preschool teachers’ dispositional mindfulness positively • Mental health professional who participated in associated closeness and less conflict with children MBSR had significant increases in self ‐ compassion (Becker et al., 2017) (Raab et al., 2015) • Preservice students’ higher mindfulness associated with • Self ‐ compassion is a significant predictor of personal reflective practices and endorsing more developmentally and professional self ‐ care among clinical social supportive responses (Brophy ‐ Herb et al., 2018) Image Credit Pixaby workers (Miller et al., 2019) • Higher dispositional mindfulness associated with a Image Credit Pixaby stronger working alliance among Early Head Start/Head Start home visitors ( Becker et al., 2016) 3

10/31/2019 How do we foster compassion? “Our every interaction every day shapes our world. To the extent that we are present with and pay attention to all those we interact with, Step 3: understand their challenges, empathise with them, and take action to Step 2: Step 1: Foster a climate or help them, we create a more compassionate world. To have the Be compassionate Self ‐ compassion culture of capacity and resilience to show compassion to others, we must first towards others compassion practice self ‐ compassion.” ‐ Professor Michael West, Lancaster University Management School & Kings Fund Thought Leader, 2017 What is self-compassion? Myths of Self-Compassion – Mindfulness (presence) – Acknowledging when • It’s a form of self ‐ pity?: associated less rumination and self ‐ we are stressed or struggling without overreacting focus or being judgmental • Represents weakness? : Higher coping and resilience – Self ‐ kindness (loving) – Not being harshly self ‐ critical, being supportive and understanding • Undermine motivation? : Greater persistence and motivation towards ourselves • Leads to self ‐ indulgence? Practice more health behaviors – Common Humanity/Connectedness – we all make • Selfish? : Higher giving relationship behavior mistakes, we all experience difficulties at times. WE ARE NOT ALONE! – Neff, K., 2019 Mindfulness & Self-compassion Difficult Emotions: " What you resist will persist. ” - Germer – Mindfulness (accepts painful “ experiences ” and Self ‐ compassion (accepts the “ experiencer ” who is experiencing suffering.” – Not trying to be mindful 24/7 ‐‐‐ that’s overwhelming – Both needs to be practiced together and unrealistic – Mindfulness helps us focus our attention what’s happening but self ‐ – But what you do allow yourself to feel, you can be able to work with it in compassion provides us the emotional safety we need to explore it a more productive way—interrupts rumination or negative storyline (common humanity)/connectedness – Turning inward into ourselves, and providing – Self ‐ compassion activities our innate care system that is part of human— ourselves the nurturance we give to others every day parents care for the child. – How would you respond to a friend? – Mindfulness helps you create the space you need to feel different emotions. 4