Self Compassion and Mindfulness are interconnected and backdraft is an interesting concept to understand why it is so hard, and so dangerous at times for people to begin Mindfulness, and so difficult to start and maintain Self Compassion.
Most clinicians have witnessed how difficult memories resurface when a client feels truly seen, heard, and loved in therapy. A metaphor for this process is “backdraft.” Backdraft occurs when a firefighter opens a door with a hot fire behind it. Oxygen rushes in, causing a burst of flame. Similarly, when the door of the heart is opened with compassion, intense pain can sometimes be released. Unconditional love reveals the conditions under which we were unloved in the past (see earlier example of Sarah). Therefore, some clients, especially those with a history of childhood abuse or neglect, are fearful of compassion (Gilbert et al., 2011).