Compassion Satisfaction is the joy people experience when they care for others. The author describes this experience as “feeling energized, happy, and grateful that one is able to make a difference in the world” (192). The author cites research that shows how practicing self-compassion helps people in caregiving positions experience compassion satisfaction as opposed to compassion fatigue and burnout.

The Buddhist concept of mudita is translated into English as sympathetic joy, meaning feeling happy for others’ joys and successes. Neff explains that cheering for others’ wellbeing is a facet of compassion that reduces jealousy and competition and increases one’s happiness and connection to others. Practicing mudita in cultures where competition and comparison are normalized, like Western culture, is difficult, but self-compassion can open the door for extending mudita to others.

Neff uses the term overidentification to refer to people identifying too strongly with their own emotional responses. She explains that when people over-identify with their emotions, “Our sense of self becomes so wrapped up in our emotional reactions that our entire reality is consumed by them” (82). Neff believes that self-compassion can moderate overidentification by consciously interrupting emotional reactions with calm, rational thoughts.