The definition of compassion as a cognitive and behavioral process includes both compassion toward one's self and toward the other. According to Dr. Clara Struss of the University of Sussex, there are five elements of compassion: recognizing suffering, understanding the universality of suffering in the human experience, feeling empathy for the person suffering and connecting with the distress, tolerating uncomfortable feelings aroused in response to the suffering person, and motivation to act to alleviate suffering (1).