“A study to assess the self-compassion, self-esteem and wellbeing among elderly in selected villages of Udupi taluk, Karnatakaâ€

**1.**BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Self-compassion is ‘‘being open to and moved  by one’s own suffering, experiencing feelings of caring and kindness toward oneself, taking an understanding, non-judgmental attitude toward one’s inadequacies and  failures, and recognizing that one’s experience is part of the common human experience’’ by Kristine Neff, (Neff, 2003).

Self-compassion can be distinguished from self-esteem in that it provides a safe and caring context whereby one can connect with the negative aspects of self (Breines & Chen, 2012) without engaging in suppression or exaggeration of these feelings (Neff, Kirkpatrick, & Rude, 2007).Study showed that self-compassion may protect older individuals who experience negative life events from a decline in well-being. In part, this effect is probably due to the coping strategies that are inherent in the self-compassionate mind-set (Allen & Leary, 2010).

Most of the older adults have moderate level of emotional well-being and they adapt to the cognitive changes and regulate their emotions than suppressing it. Emotion regulation is helpful for older adults which lead to improved well-being. (Fave D. A., 2018).

“A study to assess the self-compassion, self-esteem and wellbeing among elderly in selected villages of Udupi taluk, Karnatakaâ€

Purpose of the study:

•      The purpose of the study is to gain insight of self-compassion and to identify its relations on self-esteem and wellbeing.

•      It will help the health team members and family members to plan health promotion activities that stimulate a change in giving care to the elderly people.