Psychohygiene attaches great importance to healthy self -compassion. We explain to you what is behind the term and how you can improve your mental health with psychohygiene.
It is often easier to have compassion for others than for yourself. Psychoygiene or mental self -hygiene connects: It is about strengthening the sympathy for you, as this enables you to master difficulties more easily and more motivated.
According to the knowledge magazine spectrum, there are scientific studies on psychohygiene that have found the following: old people who have great self -compassion can take support. And HIV-infected with high self-compassion is easier to accept their illness. Similar results could also be demonstrated by other groups of people.
In summary, this means that in people who have healthy psycho -hygiene, the fear and depression rate is demonstrably decreasing. You can better cope with setbacks. Good mental self -hygiene is probably strengthening your own resilience.
The origins of psycho -hygiene
Kristin Neff, a professor of psychology at the University of Austin (USA), shaped the term “psychohygiene”. The origin of Kristin Neff’s thoughts is located in the book “Lovingkindness” by the meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg (available, for example from Buch7). It describes that people who deal with themselves can sincerely love other people.
This approach illuminated Kristin Neff while reading, so that she wanted to explore the self -compassion deeper. In the meantime, she offers a training course with the title “Mindful Self-Compassion” “(MSC) lasting several weeks. But she has also summarized her results in her book” Self-compassion: how we reconcile ourselves with our weaknesses and become the best friend “.
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For Kristin Neff, self -compassion is not much different from the compassion that you can have for other people. With self -compassion, it is specifically about appreciating your own humanity, limitation and imperfection. This is psycho -hygiene.
Psychohygiene consists of three elements
According to Kristin Neff, there are three elements that lead to healthy mental self -hygiene:
- Self-friendly (self-childhood)
- Shared humanity (common humanity)
- Mindfulness of how to deal with negative thoughts and emotions (mindfulness)
The first element of psychohygiene: self -emotional
With this element you should learn to accept your construction sites, your failure and your imperfection. Take a good deal with you into situations in which you reach your limits. Don’t be angry with yourself, but show understanding of the result and your limits. Show patience in dealing with you instead of criticizing yourself internally. Be nice, build -up and comforting to yourself for healthy psycho -hygiene.
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Practical tip: At moments you encounter how you meet a loved one: Take yourself – figuratively spoken – even in your arms. Have understanding and love for you. Ask yourself what is good for you in this situation.
The second element of psychohygiene: the shared humanity
With the second element you relativize your imperfection or failure. With healthy psycho -hygiene you realize: mistakes belong to us humans. Not only make mistakes, they all make them and nobody is perfect. By relativizing your situation, you gain distance from an ego centering that is only about yourself.
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Practical tip: If you are angry about yourself, make it clear that other people make mistakes too. You are no exception. In addition, failures are part of our lives and bring us on.
The third element of psychohygiene: mindfulness
The last element of psychohygiene deals with mindfulness. Take your feelings perceive without suppressing or tobog it. Find an inner balance in terms of the negative feelings for healthy psycho -hygiene that you carry in yourself.
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Practical tip: recognize your own emotions by verbalizing them: “This is not so easy now” or “It really hurts”. The non -violent communication helps you to verbalize your own feelings without value and thus contribute to good mental self -hygiene.
Further exercises and meditations for your psychohygiene
Further exercises and meditations that Kristin Neff suggests to improve your self -compassion can be found on your website for self -compassion. In another utopia article we also have ideas for guided meditations for you.
Revised by Philipp Multhaupt
Read more on utopia.de:
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