Threat, drive, and soothe

Learning self-compassion in an academic writing retreat

Bibliographic Data

ID21555878
AuthorsKay Hammond (0000-0001-9275-9003, Auckland University of Technology, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume40
Issue7
Pages1437-1451
Publication date2021-11-10
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHigher Education Research & Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0729-4360 • E-ISSN: 1469-8366
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/07294360.2020.1830037
OpenAlexW3092952333
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited29

As an experienced participant in academic writing retreats, I became aware of conflicting feelings during retreats between ideas of restorative practice and the pressure to produce outputs. Through autoethnographic inquiry, I examined this conflict. I wrote a reflective journal to describe my lived experience of a recent retreat and analysed the text using a self-compassion framework of Gilbert’s emotional regulation systems: drive, threat and soothe. Using these three systems as three characters within myself, I explored the influences of the neoliberal university context on my lived experience and sense of my academic identity and well-being. I used these insights to develop a transformed writing identity and practice. I moved from uncritical awareness of my internalisation of neoliberal values of isolation and output, to a more self-nurturing and connected practice. This research offers encouragement to other educators seeking transformative potential through examining their experiences, contexts, identity, and well-being

Aesthetics · Art · Autoethnography · Compassion · Feeling · Pedagogy · Political science · Self · Sociology · Transformative learning · Adult and Continuing Education Topics · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Empathy and Medical Education · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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