This is from a conversation that I had with a therapist the other day. I'm really appreciating this way of thinking about compassion, that came up while we were having a conversation about depression.
Therapist: Real compassion is...you might think of it as...that which you need to be able to feel what you actually feel...and to make that okay.
So, like when you feel depressed, what does it feel like that part needs...and really wants.
Leeann: I want to know that it's gonna be okay, it's not gonna be like this for forever. But, depression thinking is constantly telling me the opposite. Gloom...gloom...gloom... What I want is to somehow know it's not as bleak as the picture is being painted.
Therapist: Of course it's not.
It sounds like there's a kind of conflation of feeling what you feel with indulging the kind of thoughts and things that exacerbate or catastrophize emotionally.
Feeling what you're feeling doesn't mean indulging those things.
You can feel the sadness and depression while actively taking measures to support yourself in a meaningful way that makes you feel safer in your own skin.
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