Joanne Lee SmithChronic pain and symptoms recovery Nurse / Coach

Be Your Own Bestie: The Power of Self-Compassion

31 Jan 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:44

In this brief monologue, Joanne Smith urges listeners to treat themselves with the same kindness and encouragement they would give a close friend. She argues that harsh self‑criticism offers no benefit, can delay emotional recovery, and is unlikely to be a source of regret at the end of life. Conversely, practicing self‑compassion is both possible and beneficial, helping to reverse the negative impact of self‑judgment while acknowledging that some symptoms of distress may be irreversible.

Chapters

Okay, talk to yourself like your bestie, yeah, treat yourself, you've got this, be your own bestie, because trust me, nobody regrets being kind to themselves, and trust me, people when they're on their deathbed, they don't regret, they don't live with the regret saying, I wish I'd been more hard on myself. It's rare that someone would wish that they'd been more tough on themselves and more critical. There's no benefit to it. There's no benefit to it. And it's not going to help you to recover. It's just going to delay recovery. Yep. It's reversible. The symptoms are irreversible for sure. But so is the harshly judging yourself and the criticism. Being more self-compassionate is possible.