Life with Chronic Disease: Compassion

Starting with the election, and moving into warp speed following January 20^th,  I'm observing very strong and troubling emotions coming from many people. Some are very angry, others afraid and worried.  Many I know say they can’t bear to watch, read or listen to the news. Several people have voiced that those who voted for this administration “will get what they deserve.”

 

What I find so deeply concerning is the lack of compassion from all sides. What comes to mind is the Dali Lama’s quote “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” As so many are concerned about the future, even if it’s just a week from now, it’s a good time to revisit a topic I posted about last in 2019.

 

The practice of self-compassion can yield a number of benefits for our mental and physical health. Research has shown that greater self-compassion is linked with reduced psychopathology, including lower levels of depression and anxiety. Those who practiced self-compassion were found to have more positive affect, less negative thinking, and enhanced emotion regulation skills. The benefits can also be found in our bodies. Generating feelings of compassion has shown to be linked with triggering the release of the “love” hormone, oxytocin, and can also decrease cortisol levels. Self-compassion activates our parasympathetic or “soothe” system to help when our fight or flight response is triggered. Nature

 

                                            Stress and compassion with James Doty 

 

You may not have heard “Compassionomics.” This is the Science and Practice of Caring. Compassion is the emotional response to another's pain or suffering, accompanied by a desire to alleviate it. Review of the literature shows that compassionate health care measurably improves physical and psychological patient outcomes, increases patient adherence, improves health care quality and safety, increases financial margins, and prevents physician burnout. PubMed  

 

 

While compassionomics is focused on health care, it’s equally relevant in all phases of our life. Below are various links to help you develop a more compassionate mind set:

• A Mindful Guide to Compassion 

• How to Show More Compassion to Others—and Why You Should

• A Guide to Cultivating Compassion in Your Life, With 7 Practices 

• Six Habits of Highly Compassionate People from Greater Good Science: 

• The Center for Compassion and Altruism at Stanford 

• TED talks on a variety of Compassion Topics 

• Mind and Life Institute Compassion and Empathy 

 

If you can only do one thing, try a daily practice of Loving Kindness. While there are many videos you can watch, there is something about Sylvia Boorstein’s approach that I find comfortable and calming. It’s the one I’ve used for many years, though I periodically add things to it.  Below is the shorter version, but definitely check the longer version, along with the written text at On Being. 

 

“We can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion....This, then, is my true religion, my simple faith. In this sense, there is no need for temple or church, for mosque or synagogue, no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine or dogma. Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple. The doctrine is compassion. Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who or what they are: ultimately these are all we need.

So long as we practice these in our daily lives, then no matter if we are learned or unlearned, whether we believe in Buddha or God, or follow some other religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy.”
― Dalai Lama XIV