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Dr Lydia BrownM(psych)/PhDPostdoctoral Research FellowClinical Psychologist

REACHING FULL BLOOM THROUGH SELF‐COMPASSION

Agenda

• My Story

• What is Self‐Compassion? • Why do women need self‐compassion?• Why do we need self‐compassion as we age? 

• How to Practice Self‐Compassion

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Part 1

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MY STORY Part 1

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Part 1

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WHAT IS SELF‐COMPASSION? Part 2

FIRST UPCONSULTANTS

THE INNER CRITIC

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https://hbr.org/2018/09/give-yourself-a-break-the-power-of-self-compassion

FIRST UPCONSULTANTS

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FIRST UPCONSULTANTS

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE INNER CRITIC

FIRST UPCONSULTANTS

SELF-COMPASSION

• Healthy way of relating towards the self when facing difficulties (Neff, 2002)

Self-Kindness self-criticism

Common HumanityIsolation

MindfulnessOver-identification or

repression

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Experienced by up to 80% of midlife women during the menopausal transition (Woods & Mitchell., 2005)

Median duration of 7.4 years (Avis et al., 2015)

MENOPAUSAL HOT FLASHES

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• Self-compassion may be an increasingly important predictor of well-being as we age

• Our review of 11 studies (and tiny meta-analysis) found self-compassion is relevant to well-being in adults aged 65+

• Three included studies found that self-compassion weakens (moderates) the relationship between physical symptoms and well-being.

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FIRST UPCONSULTANTS

Part 1

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PRACTICING SELF-COMPASSION? Part 3

FIRST UPCONSULTANTS16(Under Review, 2019)

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This is a moment of difficulty

Everybody suffers 

May I be kind to myself

THE SELF‐COMPASSION BREAKPRACTICAL STEPS

THANK YOU

Dr Lydia Brown +1 347 493 5482lydiaab@unimelb.edu.au

www.lydiabrown.com.au

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Appendix