Self-Compassionate Reactions to Health Threats

Four studies investigated the relationship between self-compassion,health behaviors,and reactions to illness. participants completed measures of self-compassion,health-related thoughts and feelings,reactions to actual and hypothetical illnesses,and self-regulation. study 1 revealed that self-compassion was related to health-related cognitions and affect for healthy and unhealthy participants. in study 2,self-compassion predicted participants' reactions to actual illnesses beyond the influence of illness severity and other predictors of health behaviors. self-compassionate people also indicated they would seek medical attention sooner when experiencing symptoms than people lower in self-compassion. study 3 demonstrated that self-compassion is related to health-promoting behaviors even after accounting for self-regulatory capabilities and illness cognitions. study 4 revealed that the relationship between self-compassion and health reactions is partially explained by a proactive approach to health,benevolent self-talk,and a motivation toward self-kindness. overall,these studies demonstrate that self-compassion has important implications for health-promoting behaviors and reactions to illness. © 2013 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.