“How are meditation and self-compassion powerful remedies for preventing stress and burnout?” – by Catherine Baele

Mindful Self-Compassion with Catherine Baele

How Meditation and Self-Compassion Prevent Burnout

Having practiced meditation for about fifteen years and teaching it for nine, I realize how much regular practice calms me and anchors me in the present moment.

Since the 2000s, several publications have demonstrated that  meditation , if practiced regularly, has  many benefits for managing stress and anxiety . In  particular, it improves the  secretion of cortisol,  the hormone responsible for stress , facilitates our adaptation to stress, reduces the perceived level and helps us to recover a good balance more quickly following stress.

After years of training in non-violent communication, coaching, transactional analysis, brief therapy, mindfulness, I felt that I was missing something essential, and I found it by practicing self-compassion based on mindfulness.

Catherine Baele

Being at peace with myself and speaking to myself gently, comforting myself, has radically changed my relationship with myself.

I knew kindness well because as a mindfulness practitioner and teacher we learn to cultivate it, but I learned that when kindness meets suffering we can develop compassion.

In our Western culture, we are not taught to develop a gentle and kind relationship with ourselves.

The good news is that it can be learned!

And we need it all the more because we are demanding of ourselves.

Putting pressure on yourself, feeling like you're never doing enough, obeying the demands of being a good parent, a good spouse, a good professional.

High standards and a critical inner judgement create a lot of stress, which can lead to burnout.

As Fabrice Midal writes: “Leave yourselves alone.”

A vast program! And at the same time, it's a learning experience we can achieve through self-compassion.

This practice is powerful when we are experiencing unpleasant emotions.

We then have more resources to offer ourselves comfort and support without adding a critical or guilty voice to what is already difficult to live with.

Practicing loving-kindness and self-compassion meditations also results in enjoying the good times much more.

My position as a coach also benefits from this; being at peace with myself, I can better support the people who call on me and also share this precious resource with them.

How does self-compassion help prevent and heal burnout?Stress and Self-Criticism Reduction  : Self-compassion helps reduce stress by replacing self-criticism with a kinder, more understanding attitude.  This helps reduce feelings of shame and incompetence often associated with burnout 1 .Improved Resilience  : By practicing self-compassion, people develop greater resilience in the face of challenges.  They learn to support themselves emotionally, which helps them bounce back more quickly after periods of intense stress 1 .Setting Healthy Boundaries  : Self-compassion encourages people to recognize and respect their own needs and boundaries.  This includes the ability to say no and take time for themselves, which is essential for preventing and recovering from burnout 1 .Promoting Emotional Well-being  : By cultivating a kind attitude towards themselves, people can better manage their negative emotions and maintain a positive state of mind, even during times of stress .By integrating self-compassion into their daily lives, individuals can not only recover from burnout but also prevent its recurrence. For coaches and support professionals, promoting self-compassion in their clients or clients is a powerful strategy for fostering well-being and resilience.

The self-compassion cycle is therefore aimed at anyone who wishes to treat themselves as they would so much like to be treated by others, with gentleness, kindness, respect, and love.