WELLNESS
Treating Yourself In Tough Times WRITER: David Ngo PHOTOGRAPER: Jess Hume-Pantuso
In a competitive society where we have to manage complex networks of professional and intimate relationships, it can be hard to spend some time and think about how we are treating ourselves. So, how are you treating yourself today? Have you been treating yourself fairly? Under normal circumstances, perhaps we treat ourselves alright. But how about when we fail at
I was able to explore this topic with Dr. Scott Mcfee, a licensed clinical psychologist and instructor at Oregon State University. Dr. Scott shared with me that oftentimes society sets up unrealistic targets that simply can’t be hit. So when people inevitably fail, they are left stranded with unresolved feelings of shame and humiliation. “Lack of compassion towards self is one of the core features of what I’ve seen in my work. People will have these really critical thoughts of themselves and then they’ll maintain a cycle of
something we know we could have easily accomplished? How does society influence how we cope with that failure, and how can we identify what a healthy relationship with ourselves looks like? As individuals in a society, we are often set up with a series of expectations that can stem from multiple fields of life. Whether this is from the workplace, family, romantic relationships or academics, these expectations can be stressful and sometimes impossible to satisfy. So, with failure constantly knocking at the front door, do we have the necessary tools to confront itt and overcome it?
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