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SOOTHE Group
Supporting Ourselves and Others Through Healing and Empowerment
Week 2.2
Estimated time to complete 2.2: 20-30 mins
Fears, blocks & resistances (FBRs)
00:00 / 01:22
Reflect...
What might get in the way of engaging with the self-guided materials and why?
Is there any anxiety behind these reasons?
Enter your response in your Reflective Journal and paste it below if you'd like your facilitators to see.
FBRs are examples of barriers to compassion. This means an individual will either not detect the sign of suffering or will not act upon the sign to try and alleviate the suffering. A lot of Compassion-Focused Therapy is about investigating fears, being open to them, and understanding them. Often, we need to acknowledge, understand and validate these fears, before moving on to develop compassion practices.
Fears of compassion refer to the avoidance or fear response that individuals can have to compassion. These may be related to seeing compassion as a sign of weakness, self-pitying, or that compassion is seen as unhelpful or rejected.
Blocks to compassion are present when an individual would like to be compassionate but is unable to do so due to environmental constraints, such as lack of time, resources, or availability.
Resistances to compassion refer to those situations in which an individual could be compassionate but is not. This is not due to fear, but rather because the person sees no point to compassion or is focused on competitive self-advantage and therefore, holds onto their resources rather than sharing them.
These might present as fears, blocks, and resistances (FBRs) to you.
Take a look at some examples below which might help you more clearly identify your own FBRs and how they could be reframed in a more compassionate and empowering way.
Fears
Being too compassionate makes people soft and easy to take advantage of
Compassion doesn't mean being soft or taken advantage of. It means responding with care while protecting yourself and your needs
Reflect...
What do you think one of your fears is? And how might you reframe it in a more compassionate way?
Enter your response in your Reflective Journal and paste it below if you'd like your facilitators to see.
Blocks
I have no time to do the self-guided activities
Even brief moments of practice and learning count. Small, manageable practices can still support growth
Reflect...
What do you think one of your blocks is? And how might you reframe it in a more compassionate way?
Enter your response in your Reflective Journal and paste it below if you'd like your facilitators to see.
Being kind to myself just feels pointless - it won't change anything
Resistances
Being kind to myself won't magically fix things, but it can change how supported and resourced I feel during difficult times
Reflect...
What do you think one of your resistances is? And how might you reframe it in a more compassionate way?
Enter your response in your Reflective Journal and paste it below if you'd like your facilitators to see.
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