Wellbeing
How Kind Are You to Yourself?
How you treat yourself when you fail.
How this is scored
16 items across four self-compassion components on an agreement scale. Original wording inspired by self-compassion research, educational use only.
Academic References & Background
- Neff, K. D. (2003). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity, 2(3), 223-250.
Your result
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Before you start
The 4 possible results
Every answer nudges you toward one of these. Here is what each one means.
Genuinely self-compassionate
You treat yourself roughly the way you treat people you care about, with patience when things go wrong, perspective when they hurt, and the recognition that struggling is not a personal defect. This is uncommon, and it is the thing that makes setbacks survivable rather than compounding.
Reasonably kind to yourself
You can be understanding with yourself, particularly about things that were clearly not your fault. The harder cases are the ones where you think you should have known better: those still get the sharp treatment.
Conditionally kind
Your compassion for yourself depends on whether you think you deserve it, which means it arrives exactly when you need it least. The research point that surprises people: self-compassion does not reduce motivation.
Hard on yourself
You hold yourself to a standard of treatment you would find cruel if it were applied to anyone else. Often this is defended as what keeps you performing, but the evidence points the other way, and harsh self-criticism predicts more avoidance and less persistence, not more.
About this assessment
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the How Kind Are You to Yourself? measure?
How you treat yourself when you fail. 16 items across four self-compassion components on an agreement scale. Original wording inspired by self-compassion research, educational use only.
How is this test scored and how long does it take?
This test contains 16 questions and takes about 3 minutes to complete. All scoring runs instantly in your browser with zero sign-up.
Are my responses and results kept private?
Yes, 100% private. All calculations happen entirely inside your web browser. Your answers never leave your device and are never stored on any server.
Is this a clinical or medical diagnosis?
No. MindType tests are created for self-reflection, personal insight, and education. They do not constitute clinical, psychiatric, or psychological diagnosis.
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