Learning the value of self-caring

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This article was published 11/01/2021 (1727 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As a human resources professional, Louise Rioux is used to thinking about the needs of others — if they were taking time for themselves, eating properly, sleeping enough, getting time away.

But the single mother wasn’t so good at taking care of herself.

“I do this for a living for others, but I wasn’t doing it for myself. I’ve always been hard on myself,” she said.

Rioux wanted to change, but didn’t know how. Then she heard about a course on mindful self-compassion offered by Réseau Compassion Network, formerly the Catholic Health Care Corp. of Manitoba.

“I was extremely happy with the training,” she said of how she learned to meditate and take time for herself. “It taught me to be kind to me, to not beat myself up when I make mistakes, to forgive myself.”

Her teenage son has noticed.

“He thinks his mom is a better person when she takes time for herself,” she said, adding it has also helped her in her work.

For Jennifer Kilimnik of Réseau Compassion Network, Rioux’s experience shows why learning self-compassion is important, especially for those in caregiving professions.

“We can be very hard on ourselves,” said Kilimnik, who teaches the six-week course with Andrew Terhoch.

“We are not as gentle on ourselves as we are with others,” she said. “We don’t treat ourselves kindly.”

Through the course, which begins Friday, participants will learn the skills of mindfulness and self-compassion so they are better able to show compassion to others — things such as meditation, breathing exercises, and taking note of their emotions and the need for time away.

Participants “will learn some of principles and practices of mindful self-compassion, so they can better relate to and care for themselves, both physically and emotionally,” she said.

Learning about self-compassion is even more important during the pandemic, Kilimnik said, noting this is a particularly hard time for health-care workers and others in caring professions.

Many of them are feeling “overwhelmed by work, family and caregiving responsibilities,” she said.

Using the analogy of passengers hearing an airplane announcement about what to do in the event of a sudden loss of pressure, Kilimnik said it’s important for caregivers to “put their own face mask on first” before helping others.

“We need to be gentle with ourselves and each other during this pandemic,” she said. “We’re all human, we have good days and bad days. We’re all putting on a brave face.”

If people want to be more compassionate, and make the world a more compassionate place, Kilimnik said, “We can only do that if we are compassionate towards ourselves.”

Cost of the online course is on a sliding scale, starting at $50. For information or to register, send an e-mail to compassion@compassionaction.ca or go to compassionaction.ca/events.

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