Self-compassion refers to the ability to be kind and compassionate towards yourself. This test will score and evaluate your level of self-compassion across three different dimensions. Are you able to be kind to yourself?
How do you talk to yourself when things go wrong? These 30 questions help you reflect on how you treat yourself across three dimensions.
Answer questions about setbacks and the way you respond to your feelings.
See an overall score and rating, plus a score for each of the three dimensions.
Get an overall explanation and guidance matched to your score in each dimension.
This self-report test is for personal reflection. It is not a medical diagnosis or a measure of your worth.
Self-compassion means responding to yourself with care when you struggle or make a mistake. It involves noticing your distress and offering the support you might give a close friend. Psychologist Kristin Neff developed a research framework for this approach.
You can treat yourself with care on difficult days, too. The following three elements help explain how.
These are connected ways of responding, not three personality types. Each offers a different perspective on the same everyday situation.
Offer yourself support instead of attacking yourself over a mistake. You can acknowledge what went wrong and consider what would help next.
“Making this mistake means I am a failure.”
“That was difficult. What could I change next time?”
Recognize that mistakes and imperfection are part of being human. This means feeling less alone, not comparing whose suffering is worse.
“I am the only one who struggles like this.”
“Other people get stuck and struggle, too.”
Notice painful feelings without ignoring them or getting completely caught up in them. Having a feeling does not mean it defines all of you.
“This anxiety means everything will go wrong.”
“I notice that I am feeling anxious right now.”
Supporting yourself does not mean leaving problems unresolved. Resting, acknowledging a mistake, and making a necessary change can all be caring responses.
Sadness and anxiety do not need to be pushed away. Mindfulness starts with acknowledging that a feeling is present.
Self-esteem concerns how you evaluate your worth. Self-compassion focuses on how you treat yourself, including when that evaluation drops.
Look at the three dimensions as well as your overall score. You might find it easy to encourage yourself but harder to observe your feelings calmly.
Recall a time you supported yourself. What words or actions helped in that situation?
Use the explanation to explore situations you find difficult, rather than turning the score into another reason for self-criticism.
Labels such as “average” are ratings within this test, not population rankings. Your current circumstances and self-perception can also affect your answers.
Imagine making a mistake at work. These examples bring the three dimensions together in one situation.
“I feel upset and disappointed right now.”
“Everyone has days when things go wrong.”
“I can pause, then choose one thing to put right.”
You do not have to change your feelings immediately. Try wording that feels natural to you.
