Step 2: Compassion

Once everyone has written down one thing that is painful, the group can take turns reading what they have written and talk about why it is important they feel compassion for themselves.
After a person has finished talking, the group can express feelings of compassion for the person, so they feel that their self-compassion is being reinforced externally.
If the people in the group are already friends and if they wish the end of a person’s time can be finished with a hug from the next person who will share. This is totally optional, but a hug from a friend can do a lot to show how much better we feel when we share what is painful to us.