In this episode, Dr. Steven Hickman shares about his new book, Self-Compassion for Dummies, and describes his love of teaching self-compassion to skeptics and beginners. He explains what mindful self-compassion (MSC) is, and how it can work as an antidote to our fight, flight, and freeze responses. He also describes the more fierce side of self-compassion, exploring what makes self-compassion a courageous act and how it helps us navigate difficult emotions. Listen in for Dr. Hickman’s insight on the danger in trying to eliminate suffering, learning to see your inner critic in a new way, and motivating yourself through self-compassion.

Dr. Steven Hickman is the Executive Director of the non-profit Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher and trainer, and a Clinical Psychologist by training. He is also a Retired Associate Clinical Professor in the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, as well as the Founding Director of the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. Along with colleague Michelle Becker, he co-developed the Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher Training program (both in-person and live online versions) and have directly participated in the training of over 1000 MSC teachers around the world. He has taught the MSC program many times around the globe and is also a Certified teacher and trainer of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).