Self-Compassion Scale: Measure Your Inner Kindness
Self-compassion is about treating yourself with the same kindness, care, and understanding you would offer to a good friend. It involves three core components: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. This tool provides a brief assessment to help you gauge your current level of self-compassion.
Understanding your self-compassion score can be a powerful first step towards fostering a more supportive and nurturing relationship with yourself. It's not about self-pity or self-indulgence, but about recognizing your shared human experience of imperfection and suffering with warmth and acceptance. Take a moment to reflect and discover your inner kindness!
What is Self-Compassion?
Developed by Dr. Kristin Neff, self-compassion is comprised of three interconnected elements:
- Self-Kindness vs. Self-Judgment: Treating ourselves with warmth and understanding rather than harsh criticism when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate.
- Common Humanity vs. Isolation: Recognizing that suffering and personal inadequacy are part of the shared human experience, rather than feeling isolated in our struggles.
- Mindfulness vs. Over-Identification: Holding our painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness rather than getting swept away by them.
Benefits of Self-Compassion
Research suggests that self-compassion is strongly linked to psychological well-being. Benefits include:
- Increased happiness and optimism
- Reduced anxiety and depression
- Greater emotional resilience
- Improved body image
- Healthier relationships
- Better coping with life's challenges
Assess Your Self-Compassion
Please rate how often you typically behave in the following ways, using a scale from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always). Be honest with yourself; there are no right or wrong answers.
How to Use This Tool
- Read Each Statement: Carefully consider each statement provided.
- Rate Yourself: For each statement, select a number from 1 to 5 that best reflects how often you act or feel that way:
- 1 = Almost Never
- 2 = Seldom
- 3 = Sometimes
- 4 = Often
- 5 = Almost Always
- View Your Score: Once all questions are answered, your average self-compassion score will be displayed.
- Reflect and Grow: Use your score and the provided feedback to understand areas where you can cultivate more self-compassion.
This tool is for self-reflection and educational purposes only. It is not a diagnostic tool for mental health conditions.
Rate from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always).
Rate from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always).
Rate from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always).
Rate from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always).
Rate from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always).
Rate from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always).
Rate from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always).
Rate from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always).
Rate from 1 (Almost Never) to 5 (Almost Always).
Answer all questions to calculate your self-compassion score.
Cultivating Self-Compassion
Self-compassion is a skill that can be developed and strengthened over time. Here are some practices to help you cultivate more kindness towards yourself:
Practice Self-Kindness
When you're struggling, offer yourself words of comfort and understanding, just as you would to a dear friend. Avoid harsh self-criticism.
Recognize Common Humanity
Remember that imperfection and suffering are universal human experiences. You are not alone in your struggles.
Practice Mindfulness
Observe your thoughts and emotions without judgment. Acknowledge your pain without over-identifying with it.
Self-Compassion Breaks
When feeling overwhelmed, take a brief moment to acknowledge your suffering, remind yourself it's part of being human, and offer yourself kindness.
Journaling
Write about your feelings and experiences from a compassionate perspective, as if you were writing to a friend.
Guided Meditations
Explore guided self-compassion meditations available online or through apps to deepen your practice.
Important Disclaimer
This Self-Compassion Scale tool is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It is designed to help you reflect on your self-compassion levels and is not a diagnostic tool.
It should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any mental health condition. If you are experiencing significant emotional distress or mental health concerns, please consult with a qualified mental health professional.
Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.