One of grief speaker and author Heather Stang’s most popular topics, Self-Compassion As Self-Care may be offered to staff, families or patients. Here are working descriptions for each:
Keynote Presentation for Hospice & Palliative Care Professionals
Self-Compassion As Self-Care For End-Of-Life Caregivers Session Description:
Hospice, palliative care and home-health volunteers and professionals choose to provide whole-hearted care to people in need of our skills and compassion. However, tending to our own suffering with kindness is often placed on the back burner. Some of us can’t even imagine what it would be like to have the time, energy, and wherewithal to take care of ourselves. All too often we turn away from our own suffering and try to “push through” the pain.
While distractions may provide temporary relief, avoidance is not a sustainable, long-term solution. When we ignore our body’s messages and emotional cues, we overwhelm our stress response system. This contributes to depression, anxiety, stress-related illnesses, and even lead to professional burnout. This is the bad news, but there is a remedy.
Self-compassion – the practice of treating yourself as you would a beloved friend—is a surefire way to apply the “oxygen mask” to yourself. You will learn that it is possible to manage difficult emotions, reduce your suffering, and even inspire others to take control of their own health and well-being. All it takes is the right intention and just a few minutes a day.
These self-compassion techniques are rooted in ancient spiritual practices but are backed up by research that demonstrates that you can reduce anxiety, negative emotions, and the fear of suffering, while boosting immune functioning, emotional intelligence, coping skills, and a sense of connection with all sentient beings. It can even improve your sense of overall wellbeing and satisfaction with life!
During this keynote presentation, author Heather Stang will show you how self-compassion can help you manage difficult emotions, reduce our suffering, and exemplify self-care for both clients and colleagues alike. She will review the evidence-based research on this crucial topic, share inspirational stories, and let you test-drive self-compassion for yourself, so you will leave with simple strategies to help you make this powerful self-care tool a part of your daily life.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
- Define self-compassion and explain how the three components of self-compassion (Neff, 2003) support self-care.
- Summarize the evidence-based benefits of self-compassion on mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.
- Employ formal and informal self-compassion techniques to cope with personal loss and difficult emotions both on and off the job.
Keynote Presentation for Bereaved Families, Friends & Patients
Self-Compassion As Self-Care For Grief Session Description:
Tending to our own suffering with kindness is often placed on the back burner. Some of us can’t even imagine what it would be like to have the time, energy, and wherewithal to take care of ourselves – especially when we are faced with grief.
All too often we turn away from our own suffering and try to “push through” the pain. While distractions may provide temporary relief, avoidance is not a sustainable, long-term solution. When we ignore our body’s messages and emotional cues, we overwhelm our stress response system. This in turn can contribute to depression, anxiety, and stress-related illnesses. This is the bad news, but there is a remedy.
Though it may seem impossible now, the truth is that you can tend to your grieving body in a way that will calm your grieving mind, heart and spirit. And it only takes a few minutes a day to get started.
Once you learn how to apply the “oxygen mask” to yourself—and treat yourself as you would a beloved friend—you will learn that you can manage difficult emotions, reduce your suffering, and even inspire others to take control of their own health and well-being. All it takes is the right intention and a little bit of practice.
The self-compassion techniques you will learn are rooted in ancient spiritual practices, and have been proven to reduce anxiety, negative emotions, fear of suffering, and even avoidance in people with post-traumatic stress disorder. Self-compassion practices also improve emotional intelligence, coping skills, and a sense of connection with all sentient beings.
During this keynote presentation, Heather Stang, author of Mindfulness & Grief, will share inspirational stories and practical tips that will help you harness the power of self-compassion as self-care, so you can reduce your suffering and reengage with your precious life. You will also receive access to guided meditations, so you can practice self-compassion for years to come.
