Going Easy on Ourselves Is Good For Health

The admonition "cut yourself some slack" turns out be excellent medical advice, and Geezer likes the fact that there's no co-pay for treatment. New York Times' Well writer Tara Parker-Pope reports on research that suggests that people who score high on tests of self-compassion have less depression and anxiety, and tend to be happier and more optimistic. Other research suggests that self-compassion can influence how much we eat, and may help some people lose weight. Parker-Pope points out that, counter-intuitively, people who are forgiving of others are not necessarily forgiving of themselves. She cites University of Texas psychologist Kristin Neff's finding that "the biggest reason people aren’t more self-compassionate is that they are afraid they’ll become self-indulgent. They believe self-criticism is what keeps them in line. Most people have gotten it wrong because our culture says being hard on yourself is the way to be.”

Read more from Tara Parker-Pope, and cut yourself some slack.