The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive

I got this book at the recommendation of my therapist and boy has it changed my life. I haven’t finished it yet, but there were a few life-changing statements in the introduction alone. It has allowed me to understand that self-compassion is NOT selfish and is actually essential to surviving. It has really opened up my eyes to the MAJOR differences in the compassion I show others vs. the compassion (or lack thereof) that I show myself. I’ll admit that I’m truly devoting a lot of time to this and accepting it completely, which I have found to be the most beneficial. I have found that having a copy of an “emotion wheel” and a list of tones (positive, neutral, and negative) on hand has also been helpful in navigating some of the exercises throughout the book. I have only been working through this book for a short period of time, but it has already had a positive impact in my life. *For reference: I’m a 22 y/o female, have anxiety, depression, and avoidant personality disorder, and have been on antidepressants for years (this is my dad’s account excuse the profile pic). This book has been one of the first truly beneficial resources that I have been introduced to. It has not only helped me work on self-compassion, but it has also helped me be more mindful in situations where I’m usually very anxious and start overthinking. I would highly recommend this book. The chapters are set up by introducing a topic & providing real world examples that are easy to understand. At the end of the chapter they have exercises where they have you reflect on certain situations (they prompt you) and write down your thoughts. There’s usually a few exercises that end up with you really breaking down how you think/act. They usually address your true inner feelings that you may have been burying or ignoring (hence the emotion wheel), and they bring it back around to exercises that allow you modify the negative behaviors that you’re been reflecting on to wrap up the chapter. I personally think spending a decent amount of time on the exercises is truly beneficial to individual success. (Sorry for the novel-length review but I truly think this is an amazing resource.)

This workbook is gentle, clear, and honestly pretty comforting. The exercises are simple to follow, and they help you slow down and look at yourself with a little more kindness. It is not overwhelming, and you can go at your own pace. If you want something that supports your mental well being in a practical, doable way, this is a really solid pick.

Do you beat yourself up a lot? Are you harshly self-critical? Then Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer’s new workbook on self-compassion might be the exact book for you. It has certainly been very helpful to me. A few years ago, I read Neff’s book Self-Compassion and also Germer’s book The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion. Both are excellent foundations for understanding why we are self-critical and how self-compassion can help. Neff and Germer’s joint venture in the form of this workbook, The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive, is based on their Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) training programs. I have attended one of these, and this workbook is equally helpful for working on self-critical patterns in yourself and becoming more self-compassionate. Neff and Germer are experts in the field of self-compassion and have done countless MSC trainings together. This workbook reflects all that work. It is very well written with a reader-friendly layout. The chapters are short with clear descriptions of what self-compassion is and what it isn’t, as well as many practical exercises: journaling exercises, meditation/mindfulness exercises, and reflections. The book gives you access to downloadable audio files of some of the exercises. You do not have to have attended the trainings or read any of the previous books to get a lot out of the workbook. It stands alone, the exercises are excellent, and while I recognized many of them from the MSC training, it didn’t seem repetitious to do them in this format. Quite the contrary. I find that each time I approach this material, I approach it a little differently. I notice something different. The fact is we’re never done with self-compassion practice. There’s no end-point; there’s just more practice. I highly recommend this workbook to anyone who wants to become more self-compassionate. Whether you’ve already done a lot of work in this area, or this is your first exposure to the idea of self-compassion, this book will be an excellent guide, a compassionate friend on your journey.

As soon as I found out that this workbook would be coming out over five months ago, I eagerly pre-ordered it. I have Dr. Neff's book and audio program and Dr. Germer's book, and have found them to be incredibly useful in developing self-compassion skills. This workbook is a wonderful addition to any mindfulness library since it includes guided exercises and meditations to reinforce the skills you'll learn in this book. Although this book just came out and so I obviously haven't yet done the full eight weeks, I've done a similar program from Drs. Teasdale, Williams, and Segal and have also done an in-person eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Both were invaluable in helping me create a daily mindfulness practice so as to manage my stress. The previous books I've read by Drs. Neff and Germer have helped me extend that practice to the area of self-compassion and self-acceptance, and I know that this workbook will reinforce those skills. The book is divided up into twenty-four chapters, and each one contains readings and exercises, as well as the aforementioned meditations. The authors also ground their explanations in evidence-based research, and the book contains a full list of cited sources in the back. In the introduction, the authors mention that this workbook can be used to augment an in-person Mindful Self-Compassion (MBC) class or on its own. They suggest allocating thirty minutes a day to the program, and working your way through one or two chapters a week. From personal experience when I took the MBSR class, it can be hard to find that time, but it's so important to do the work to get results from the program. Hope that helps, and good luck on your journey!

This book overall is really great. I'm a therapist, and I was really hoping that there would be more "worksheet" type exercises I could offer my clients, but this is more laid out for a client to use themselves. The information is very helpful, and I do appreciate the exercises. Also there is a lot of evidence and research to back up the principles and exercises. Overall, I'd recommend this book, but it's just not exactly what I was expecting/hoping for, which is why it gets the four stars. To clarify, the exercises are spread all throughout the information, and not formatted for like a worksheet-type thing, if that makes sense.

Helpful from the very first page. Regular mindfulness just never was very effective for me, and this method is a game changer. I’m only a quarter of the way through, and I’m already feeling more at ease as I navigate challenges. Between this workbook and regular bilateral music listening, I feel like I’m building a foundation on skills that work for me. Taking responsibility for supporting myself emotionally is powerful!

As someone who has meditated for several years with little, or probably negative effect, I heartily appreciate the experience of doing meditations related to self-compassion ---- warmth, love, compassion, release of stress and better cognitive functioning. The MSC program this book introduces is an unusual program for self-improvement. Most programs don't have a scientific background. Many self-books sell strategies without rigorous studies to back them up, and using them is just like taking untested drugs, you're far more likely to be harmed than helped. While a large amount of studies have validated the benefits of self-compassion, and the MSC program has also been tested using randomized controlled trial. Moreover, if you read the paper, you'll find the effect size to be quite large. Changes (in that study) in various well-being measures (e.g. anxiety, life satisfaction) are between .5 and 1 standard deviations, indicating that the program enhances well-being deeply and globally. Though a MSC program delivered by a trainer is available, most readers of this book probably won't have access to it. So it might be more important to remember tips for using this book (they are listed at the beginning of the book), as maybe no one is going to remind you when you get stuck. The authors suggest us to increase self-compassion in a self-compassionate way ---- allow ourselves to be slow learners, experiment and select/tailor exercises according one's own conditions, try to go through inner transformation with less work, less stress, and taking responsibility for our emotional well-being by regulating level of ‘’opening". Though I have just begun this book, I've find them helpful. I often find myself "concentrate" too hard while meditating, resulting in mental tension and stress, so I tried to be gentler and ironically enjoyed higher, though still imperfect quality of focus. At last, about the motivation for self-improvement, the authors suggests that, it should not be we are "not good enough", but self-compassion ---- we truly wish ourselves well.

First, let me say I am not a "big" word fan at all. If I were to read this book on a non-digital copy I would have tossed it in chapter 1. Too many times while reading this book on my Kindle app, I have to look words up to get the full grasp of what the heck the author is trying to say or explain. I am not opposed to learning new words. But this is a topic that for me is extremely hard to get through. So why not say what you need to say in a simpler way of saying what it is you have to say. Second, I will say I like learning and practicing this stuff. The goal of this workbook is to have more self-compassion, which in conjunction with my head Dr. I am learning to do. It was his recommendation to read and go through this book.