Self-compassion and Feeling Big Feelings
With James Kerti
For this episode, I was joined by James Kerti, who is a writer, poet and strategist I met through the poetry club, an online poetry community that I host! He writes a lot about mental and emotional health with a focus on kindness, connection and self-acceptance, and his first book Kind words for big feelings comes out in June of 2023!
this episode
In this episode, James and I discussed his writing journey and the theme of self-compassion. We talked about being too sensitive, whether it's normal to feel multiple emotions at once, how to navigate healing and treating yourself with compassion, and practicing stillness in your life. James also read two wonderful poems about self-compassion from his upcoming poetry collection! He explained that writing poetry allows him to work through deep emotions and assists in his personal healing journey.
James goes on to explain that being able to reflect on the challenging times with other people who are going through their own things can help and reminds that you are not alone. It’s important to remember to listen to your needs during healing, and that’s one of the main ways James mentioned practicing self-compassion, by listening to what his mind and body needs in each moment. Other ways you can practice self-compassion and kindness include:
Journaling
Grounding
Going for walks
Putting your phone away for a bit
Accepting the variety of emotions you carry
Alone time
Time with others
small step
For this episode, our small step may be a challenge to some! As a step towards self-compassion, put your phone on ‘do not disturb’ for a few hours. if you find yourself spending lots of time on social media, Maybe try a whole day. Take some time and stillness for yourself away from your phone.
where to listen
we talked about much more in the podcast episode! tune in by visiting the links below, or on your favorite podcast sites.
Take the time to listen to your own needs, whether that’s spending time with loved ones or quiet time alone to work through your thoughts and feelings. And remember, it’s okay to feel big feelings.