"The author of The Willpower Instinct delivers a controversial and groundbreaking new book that overturns long-held beliefs about stress. More than forty-four percent of Americans admit to losing sleep over stress. And while most of us do everything we can to reduce it, Stanford psychologist and bestselling author Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., delivers a startling message: Stress isn't bad. In The Upside of Stress, McGonigal highlights new research indicating...

In this course, learn how to use meditation and compassion training to undo the negative physical effects of anger, resentment, and hate. Anger can be toxic. When you’re angry, your body shifts into a state that isn’t healthy, which can affect your cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems. Additionally, holding grudges can lead to declines in your physical health over time. In this installment of The Science of Compassion, Kelly McGonigal...

This course addresses the difficulty of engaging in self compassion, and how to feel compassionate toward one who is suffering when that person is you. If feeling compassion toward someone else may seem like an easy and even natural thing to do, why is it so hard to feel compassion for ourselves? In this installment of The Science of Compassion, Kelly McGonigal delves into this important question. The first reason, Kelly explains, is the confusion...

This course examines the concept of contagious compassion, and how one act can affect anyone directly or even indirectly involved with a compassionate act. One of the keys to understanding compassion, and how to act compassionately, is to recognize that compassion is not pure altruism. Just by showing compassion toward someone else, you also benefit from that act, as does anyone who witnesses or even hears about it later. This is centered around...

Explore what happens in your body when you experience compassion— from your brain, to your heart, to your nervous system, and beyond. How would you describe what compassion feels like? To some, there’s an idealized notion of what compassion is. It can feel calm, pleasant, and peaceful. Often, however, you practice compassion in the most unpleasant of moments, like when you have to give someone devastating, life-changing news. Compassion can often...

In this session, learn how to recognize and deal with empathy fatigue and decreasing compassion as your awareness of suffering increases. Even if you consider yourself a compassionate person, feeling compassion all the time can simply be overwhelming, especially when confronted by large amounts of suffering. In this installment of The Science of Compassion series, Kelly McGonigal explores empathy fatigue and the concept of compassion collapse. As...

Breakthrough Science and Practical Tools for Cultivating Compassion
 
Why is compassion so powerful? Like many forms of spirituality and meditation, compassion practice has been shown by research to enhance your health, psychological well-being, relationships, and sense of purpose. “The unique quality of compassion,” teaches Dr. Kelly McGonigal, “is that its benefits extend to the one who offers it, the one

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Personal Transformation Based on Mindfulness and Self-CompassionWhat's your most important goal? Why does it matter so deeply? How will you overcome the obstacles? Answer these questions with sincerity, proceed with mindfulness and compassion, and you have just set in motion a revolutionary method for personal change that is supported by both the latest science and traditional wisdom. On The Neuroscience of Change, psychologist and award-winning Stanford...

Overcome Shame and Self-Recrimination with the Help of Ten Luminary Presenters
 
Why is it that we’re often our own worst enemy? What messages have we internalized that make us chronically criticize our own actions? And how can we break these cycles of self-recrimination?
 
Research shows that when we truly accept ourselves, it changes everything. We become less reactive and more resilient. Our physical health

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