Your teen years are a time of change, growth, and—all too often—psychological struggle. To make matters worse, you are often your own worst critic. The Self-Compassion Workbook for Teens offers valuable tools based in mindfulness and self-compassion to help you overcome self-judgment and self-criticism, cultivate compassion toward yourself and others, and embrace who you really are. As a teen, you’re going through major changes—both physically and mentally. These changes can have a dramatic effect on how you perceive, understand, and interpret the world around you, leaving you feeling stressed and anxious. Additionally, you may also find yourself comparing yourself to others—whether its friends, classmates, or celebrities and models. And all of this comparison can leave you feeling like you just aren’t enough. So, how can you move past feelings of stress and insecurity and start living the life you really want? Written by psychologist Karen Bluth and based on practices adapted from Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer’s Mindful Self-Compassion program, this workbook offers fun and tactile exercises grounded in mindfulness and self-compassion to help you cope more effectively with the ongoing challenges of day-to-day life. You’ll learn how to be present with difficult emotions, and respond to these emotions with greater kindness and self-care. By practicing these activities and meditations, you’ll learn specific tools to help you navigate the emotional ups and downs of the teen years with greater ease. Life is imperfect—and so are we. But if you’re ready to move past self-criticism and self-judgment and embrace your unique self, this compassionate guide will light the way.

Self-compassion is a powerful inner resource. More than a thousand research studies show the benefits of being a supportive friend to yourself, especially in times of need. This science-based workbook offers a step-by-step approach to breaking free of harsh self-judgments and impossible standards in order to cultivate emotional well-being. In a convenient large-size format, this is the first self-help resource based on the authors' groundbreaking 8-week Mindful Self-Compassion program, which has helped tens of thousands of people around the globe. Every chapter includes guided meditations (with audio downloads); informal practices to do anytime, anywhere; exercises; vivid examples of people using the techniques to address different types of challenges (relationship stress, weight and body image issues, health concerns, anxiety, and more); and empathic reflection questions. Working through the book, readers build essential skills for personal growth based on self-care--not self-criticism. See also The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, by Christopher Germer, which delves into mindful self-compassion and shares moving stories of how it can change lives.

Are you kind to everyone but yourself? This book will help you find the strength and courage to move beyond self-criticism and just be you. Do you ever feel like you’re just not good enough? Do you often compare yourself to friends, classmates, or even celebrities and models? As a teen facing intense physical, mental, and social changes, it’s easy to get caught up in self-judgment and criticism. The problem is, over time, these negative thoughts can build up, cloud your world, and lead to stress, anxiety, and even depression. So, how can you start being nicer to yourself? Written by psychologist Karen Bluth and based on practices adapted from Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer’s Mindful Self-Compassion program, this book offers fun, everyday exercises grounded in mindfulness and self-compassion to help you overcome crippling self-criticism and respond to feelings of self-doubt with greater kindness and self-care. You’ll find real tools to help you work through difficult thoughts and feelings, navigate life’s emotional ups and downs, and be as accepting of yourself as you are of others. Learning to believe in yourself means being aware of the self-critical voice inside you, and then discovering how to not take it so seriously. With this book, you’ll learn how self-compassion can actually be a much greater motivator for reaching your goals than self-criticism. In fact, being kind to yourself when you’re struggling can actually reduce stress and make you more resilient! So, stop beating yourself up, and start reading this book. You have an important friend to make—you!

Grounded in knowledge about the unique developmental challenges of adolescence, this book presents an innovative approach for teaching self-compassion to teens and young adults in clinical, educational, or community settings. Lorraine Hobbs and Niina Tamura provide guided practices, creative exercises, and teaching strategies adapted from Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer’s widely disseminated Mindful Self-Compassion program for adults. Case examples, sample dialogues, and scripts illustrate how to set up and run successful groups that address teen concerns such as self-criticism, self-esteem, social comparison, and strong emotions. The book offers guidelines for cultivating a personal practice and working with parents. Tips for providing a safe, effective learning environment are woven throughout; a special chapter covers trauma-sensitive teaching.

Powerful mindfulness tools to help you move beyond self-harming thoughts and behaviors, so you can get back to living your life. Being a teen in today’s world isn’t easy. Maybe you’ve been bullied. Maybe you feel like your family or friends just don’t get you. Or maybe you feel like you don’t have control of your life, or you’re just tired of trying to be perfect all the time. You aren’t alone. Many teens struggle with difficult feelings and thoughts—and sometimes, when these thoughts feel overwhelming, you just want to feel something else. This is where self-harming behaviors, such as cutting, come in. But there are better ways to manage your pain. This book will help guide you. In this workbook, you’ll learn about the power of mindfulness, and how it can help you create your own special space for simply being with your thoughts. When you’re dealing with difficult emotions, you’ll have this safe space to go to again and again—no matter where you are or what you’re doing. You’ll learn how to be mindful of your senses, techniques for managing difficult feelings before they escalate, and move past self-judgment to embrace self-compassion and self-awareness. Pain is a normal part of life—it’s how you react to this pain that really matters. Let this workbook guide you toward better strategies for dealing with stress and emotional pain, so you can be safe, happy, and in control of your life.

People of all ages, backgrounds, and circumstances struggle with low self-esteem. This long-awaited, fully revised second edition of the best-selling The Self-Esteem Workbook includes up-to-date information on brain plasticity, and new chapters on forgiveness, mindfulness, and cultivating lovingkindness and compassion. If your self-esteem is based solely on performance—if you view yourself as someone who’s worthy only when you’re performing well or acknowledged as doing a good job—the way you feel about yourself will always depend on external factors. Your self-esteem affects everything you do, so if you feel unworthy or your confidence is shaped by others, it can be a huge problem. With this second edition of The Self-Esteem Workbook, you’ll learn to see yourself through loving eyes by realizing that you are inherently worthy, and that comparison-based self-criticism is not a true measure of your value. In addition to new chapters on cultivating compassion, forgiveness, and unconditional love for yourself and others—all of which improve self-esteem—you’ll find cutting-edge information on brain plasticity and how sleep, exercise, and nutrition affect your self-esteem. Developing and maintaining healthy self-esteem is key for living a happy life, and with the new research and exercises you’ll find in this updated best-selling workbook, you’ll be ready to start feeling good about yourself and finally be the best that you can be.