Ease your suffering
Learn the Practice of Self-Compassion
Self-compassion is the process of turning compassion inwards. We learn to ease our own suffering by giving ourselves more kindness and support, like we would give to a good friend. When we can do this, when we stop beating ourselves up so much, we don’t feel so alone in dealing with our loved one’s suffering from addiction. Then, life changes for the better.
Ways to Learn Self-compassion
We offer a choice of how you can lear self-compassion. This way you get to choose what you think is best for you. When you learn self-compassion, you learn to resource yourself with an amazing self-care tool, as you take responsibility for easing your suffering, and for your personal healing and wellbeing. This is important when supporting a loved one who is suffering from addiction. If we don’t care for ourselves, we can lose ourselves. Self-compassion can enable you to step out of the threat oriented inner world that has been created by your inner critic, the well meaning voice that has tried to keep you safe, as you witness your loved one’s substance misuse or addiction.
Developing self-compassion and a compassionate coach within you will help to allow healthy new thoughts, healthy new emotions and healthy new behaviours, new positive ways of responding and being in the world, which is so important for your wellbeing.
Blossome offers different ways for you to learn the formal meditation based practices of self-compassion, as well as the informal practices that you can weave into how you live your every day life.
Mindful Self-compassion for Widows
This is your invitation to gently tend to your heart after loss. An 8-week Self-Compassion journey for Widows, offering a safe and supportive space to gently explore what it means to care for yourself after the loss of your partner.
Resourcing Me: Online Drop-in Sessions
Join our weekly online gatherings to learn and practice self-compassion in a safe, supportive space. Guided by a qualified teacher, these sessions are for anyone affected by a loved one’s drinking, drug use, gambling or any addiction.
Cultivating Self Compassion
Learn to be kinder to yourself and to self-regulate your emotions with the 8- week Cultivating Self-compassion training programme, run specifically for the Blossome Community.
The Compassion Cafe Pilot
Many support organisations bring people together over a cuppa, however, the pressure to speak, or the empathy that people feel for one another can cause people to feel triggered when they hear the stories that are shared. Compassion Cafe pilot introduced a new way to ensure this didn’t happen, helping participants to always leave feeling better than when they arrived.
Compassion Cafe was a pilot that we ran with funding from The Winter Wellbeing fund during the winter of 2023/2024. We wanted to test the concept of offering more that just a coffee meet up. How would it impact wellbeing is we taught people an informal self-compassion practice over a cup of coffee, in a social setting.
The results of the Compassion Cafe Pilot were very positive, leading to the development of the Cultivating Self-compassion Training Programme. Self-compassion practices are at the heart of all we do. You will learn a practice at every self-care activity. We are also growing our online library of Micro-moments of self-compassion.
What is self-compassion
Discover what is self-compassion is and how it helps to improve the relationship that you have with yourself.
The science behind self-compassion
Discover the science behind self-compassion and the evidence base that supports its effectiveness.
Blossome Cultivating Self-compassion Programme
Discover what the Blossome Cultivating Self-compassion programme is and how it is structured.
Practising Self-compassion in a Community
Discover how learning and practising self-compassion with others supports the development of your own self-compassion.
Research Supporting Self-compassion
Self-compassion is an evidence-based practice rooted in psychological research that emphasises treating oneself with kindness during difficult times. Studies show that self-compassion promotes emotional resilience, reduces anxiety and depression, and enhances overall well-being. By fostering a supportive inner dialogue, individuals can better navigate life’s challenges and cultivate a healthier mindset.Neff, K. D., et al. (2020). Caring for others without losing yourself: An adaptation of the Mindful Self‐Compassion Program for Healthcare Communities. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(9), 1543-1562. ‘effective way to increase self‐compassion, enhance wellbeing, and reduce burnout for healthcare professionals.’ Read the Full article
Soares, A. J., Ferreira, G., & Graça Pereira, M. (2016). Depression, distress, burden and social support in caregivers of active versus abstinent addicts. Addiction Research & Theory, 24(6), 483-489. ‘According to the results, caregivers of addicts would benefit from interventions that increase social support, and decrease burden, depression and distress, particularly, those who care for non-abstinent family members.’ Download here
Runyan, C. N., Hewitt, A. L., Martin, S. A., & Mullin, D. (2017). Confronting the new epidemic: Integrated care for opioid use disorders. Families, Systems, & Health, 35(2), 248. ‘The conference ended with an emphasis on the importance of and strategies for self-care among caregivers working with this population and their families.’ View the Abstract
Coulombe, S., Krzesni, D. A., Jones, S., & Hébert Boyd, M. (2018). Supporting Family Caregivers of People Living With Mental Health, Addiction, and Other Issues: Narrative Review of Canadian and International Intervention Studies ‘Providing care for a family member with mental health issues can negatively impact one’s wellbeing. Interventions to support family caregivers have the potential to reduce stress and depressive symptoms, and to improve overall wellbeing.’ View the Abstract and references
Diggory, K., & Reeves, A. (2022). ‘Permission to be kind to myself’. The experiences of informal carers of those with a life-limiting or terminal illness of a brief self-compassion-based self-care intervention. Progress in Palliative Care, 30(3), 149-157. ‘The findings highlight that a brief self-compassion intervention can have a positive impact on carers reported well-being through developing a kindlier internal orientation and locating a permission to allow themselves to practice an intentional self-care.’ Read the Full article
Lloyd, J., Muers, J., Patterson, T. G., & Marczak, M. (2019). Self-compassion, coping strategies, and caregiver burden in caregivers of people with dementia. Clinical gerontologist, 42(1), 47-59. ‘Caregivers with higher levels of self-compassion report lower levels of burden and this is at least partly due to the use of less dysfunctional coping strategies.’ Read the Full article
Matthews, S. (2019). Self-stigma and addiction. In The stigma of addiction: An essential guide (pp. 5-32). Cham: Springer International Publishing. A second source of self-stigma is the private shame that individuals feel based on accurate recognition of their situation. This may generate the motivation to heal but typically only when it occurs in a supportive context where public stigma is absent and acceptance by others is present. With the barrier of public stigma removed, or at least lowered, the individual with SUDs will stop self-stigmatising based on the damaging mythology around addiction and so may be given the support he or she needs for self-compassion, and in particular self-trust, in order to recover. Read the full article