Why do we cringe when people are nice to us?

Here we talk about the importance of taking and holding a compassionate stance when it comes to ourselves and other people. Having a compassionate attitude towards the self and others can help relieve emotional pain experienced with life e.g. depression, anxiety, and panic, as well as unhelpful ways of being e.g., self-critical, punitive, and perfectionistic. For many of us, we have grown up in a place where we might feel 'threat' is facing us whereever we turn - the threat may be in the form of avoiding bullying or negative judgement from others. This threat might also push us into being more 'driven' and we might do this by working hard to achieve well at school, getting that promotion, or having the perfect body/house/car. Being more compassionate can allow us to forgive ourselves, acknowledge the suffering we experience and embrace kindness to the self.