Saturday Thoughts
Added 2025-04-05 21:12:44 +0000 UTCWhen I struggle to show self-compassion, I remind myself that my partner, Carson, has told me I’m his greatest treasure. I value Carson enough to want to treat someone he loves with respect. So I try to show self compassion, if not because I “deserve” it but because my partner does. Not sure if that makes sense, but that’s what I tried to capture in this comic.
Hope your Saturday is going well! ❤️
Comments
Ooh I’m going to have to check that out!
Meg Adams
2025-04-09 20:29:48 +0000 UTCThank you so much for sharing your story! Your son is so lucky to have you ❤️ I really resonate with what you’re saying. Thank you ❤️
Meg Adams
2025-04-09 20:29:34 +0000 UTCi recently finished "We Need Your Art" by Amie McNee and i'm recommending it to everyone who so much as doodles when they are bored. There is so much more than just art advice in it.
Mike
2025-04-06 16:32:32 +0000 UTCTo my knowledge, I don't have anything clinical that might also impact the way I view and treat myself (just run of the mill occasional bouts of life-inflicted depression and existential dread/crises, a history of lower self-esteem and weak boundaries, and all the bullshit values absorbed from our bullshit culture built on capitalism, patriarchy, colonialism, white supremacy and other evils), so I don't know what it's like having to navigate that and don't want to speak out of turn. But I can share that the experience of loving my son *unconditionally* has helped me realize that maybe I deserve that sort of love from myself too. When he was younger he went through some tough times that included explosive, angry meltdowns every day, often multiple times a day. Loving this little kid no matter what, I could see that he wasn't acting up or failing or being a jerk - he was simply struggling and suffering and totally overwhelmed. I learned how to soften and be there with him in compassion and co-regulate, and it helped him to move through and recover from the meltdowns so much more easily. Then I had a lightbulb moment that hey - when *I* feel like utter crap and am beating up on myself and overwhelmed and miserable and experiencing self-destructive thoughts, maybe it's not because I am a failure and awful. Maybe I'm just struggling in the moment too. Maybe I deserve some patience and compassion too. At first it felt sooooo awkward and fake to hold and act on those new thoughts, but what I've also found is that self-compassion is a practice, is a muscle. By catching myself in tough moments again and again and choosing a different reaction (suuuuper hard and uncomfortable in the beginning), with time, I could start to retrain old habits of thought and it started to become more ingrained. I still stumble sometimes, but I'm generally a lot kinder to myself now than I was when I was younger, and it doesn't take nearly as much effort now. I actually mostly believe I deserve to be kind to myself. All this to say, I'm so glad Carson's love motivates you to treat yourself more gently (hurray for Carson!), and I hope that this practice gets easier and more ingrained for you every day. Whether you can feel it or not, I KNOW you deserve kindness and compassion. Wishing you all the best!
Jennifer Rodney
2025-04-06 05:01:55 +0000 UTCThank you so much for sharing ❤️❤️ I feel the same way!
Meg Adams
2025-04-05 23:46:42 +0000 UTCLearning to care about myself via the people i cherrish, furthermore the people that care about me, has done a lot in holding my mental health together. Living for other people fills in the spaces where i cant for myself. Forever thankfull for these posts its nice to relate to other people on these matters
Tyson Romaniuk-Philips
2025-04-05 22:23:56 +0000 UTC
