Abstract

The fear of being evaluated, whether positively or negatively, has been shown to predict people’s willingness to seek help. In the current study, I examined whether self-compassion (treating oneself with warmth and kindness in difficult times) might reduce such fears, thereby making it more likely that people with social anxiety might seek professional help or be more willing to seek help. Adults experiencing social anxiety symptoms, such as intense fear of being judged, embarrassed, or rejected in social situations, often leading to avoidance, were recruited from Prolific Academic to complete an online survey assessing self-compassion, fear of positive evaluation (FPE), fear of negative evaluation (FNE), and help-seeking attitudes and behavior. Consistent with the hypothesis, higher self-compassion was associated with lower FNE and FPE. However, self-compassion was not significantly correlated with help-seeking attitudes or behavior, and neither FNE nor FPE significantly predicted help-seeking outcomes. The results suggest the need to examine therapy-specific stigma, structural and socioeconomic barriers, and mental health literacy as additional determinants of whether socially anxious people pursue professional psychological care.

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According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), in 2022, nearly 23.1% of adults in the U.S. suffered from a mental disorder. However, despite the availability of effective treatments, nearly half of adults with a mental illness did not seek professional treatment (NIMH, 2024). Failure to seek psychological help can lead to worsening symptoms, such as reduced productivity, impaired self-care, prolonged suffering and elevated risk of suicide (Andrade et al., 2014). Therefore, understanding why many people avoid seeking help despite the clear benefits is a critical public health priority. One important psychological barrier is fear of evaluation, whether it is fear of negative evaluation (the worry that others will judge or criticize one) or fear of positive evaluation (fear of receiving praise or attention and not being able to live up to others’ high expectations) (Goetter et al., 2020; Weeks et al., 2008; Zartaloudi et al., 2010). Such fears, both of negative and positive evaluation, can make people reluctant to disclose difficulties or seek professional help (Long & Neff, 2018). In the present study, I examined whether self-compassion, defined as treating oneself with kindness and understanding during times of distress, would be associated with greater willingness to seek professional psychological help partly through its associations with lower fears of being evaluated.

Fear of Negative Evaluation
Fear of negative evaluation (FNE) refers to apprehension and distress over the possibility
of being criticized, rejected, or viewed unfavorably by others (Watson & Friend, 1969; Weeks, 2022). FNE has long been recognized as a central feature of social anxiety and a significant barrier to interpersonal openness (Weeks & Howell, 2012). People with greater FNE tend to be overly concerned with how they are perceived by others and are sensitive to cues of disapproval or rejection. As a result, they often experience intense anxiety in evaluative situations, avoid self-disclosure, and interpret ambiguous social feedback as negative or judgmental (Weeks & Howell, 2012). This heightened sensitivity to potential criticism contributes to behavioral avoidance patterns, such as reluctance to speak up in class, participate in group discussions, or initiate social interactions (Long & Neff, 2018; Weeks et al., 2010).
 

Research has consistently demonstrated that FNE is closely associated with a variety of
negative outcomes, including social withdrawal, impaired communication, and reduced quality of relationships. For instance, Weeks and Howell (2012) found that people high in FNE reported more discomfort during social exchanges and were less likely to express personal opinions. Similarly, studies show that those who anticipate negative evaluation tend to interpret even neutral feedback as criticism, which reinforces anxiety and avoidance over time (Weeks, 2022). These patterns are not only evident in socially anxious people but also emerge in nonclinical populations, suggesting that FNE influences social functioning across various contexts (Carleton et al., 2011).

Importantly, FNE has been identified as a key psychological barrier to help-seeking
behavior. People with high FNE may perceive the act of seeking therapy itself as a socially risky behavior, as it requires acknowledging vulnerability and being evaluated by authorities (Goetter et al., 2020). The fear that others, such as  therapists, friends, or family, might judge a person as weak or incompetent for needing help can intensify avoidance tendencies. Zartaloudi et al. (2010) found that people with higher FNE scores were more likely to endorse stigma-related concerns as reasons for avoiding psychological services. Additionally, Clement et al. (2015) reported that fear of being judged or labeled by others was one of the most common reasons to avoid help-seeking across multiple cultural contexts. Together, these findings suggest that FNE not only limits social connection but also prevents people from seeking professional support that could reduce their distress.

Fear of Positive Evaluation
Given its strong association with social anxiety and avoidance behaviors,
understanding FNE is critical to identifying its relationship with help-seeking. However,
evaluation fear is not limited to potential criticism or rejection. Recent work highlights that even positive feedback can evoke discomfort among those with social anxiety, suggesting that people may fear being evaluated in any form, whether favorable or unfavorable (Rodebaugh et al., 2012). Fear of positive evaluation (FPE) captures the discomfort people feel when they receive praise, approval, or attention from others (Rodebaugh et al., 2012; Weeks et al., 2008). It is the feeling of uneasiness about becoming the center of attention after success or positive feedback. People may anticipate that being noticed will lead to higher expectations or future
disappointment if others find out they are not as smart as the appraisal suggested (Tsarpalis-
Fragkoulidis et al., 2022; Weeks et al., 2010).
 

FPE plays a key role in perpetuating social anxiety. For example, Rodebaugh et al. (2012)
found that both FNE and FPE were independently associated with social anxiety symptoms, even after controlling for general anxiety and depression. Moreover, people high in FPE tend to downplay achievements, avoid appraisal, and engage in self-deprecating behaviors to prevent drawing attention to themselves (Wilson et al., 2023). These self-protective behaviors may temporarily reduce anxiety, but they ultimately reinforce avoidance patterns and diminish social confidence.

FPE may also contribute to avoidance of help-seeking. Seeking therapy often involves
discussing personal progress or improvements with a professional, which can generate both
evaluation and encouragement. For people with high FPE, such positive feedback might heighten discomfort because it draws attention to their internal struggles or perceived inconsistency between outward competence and inner distress (Long & Neff, 2018). Besides, Wilson et al. (2023) found that people with high FPE avoided situations where their competence could be acknowledged, fearing that success would make them more visible to future judgment.

In the context of therapy, this same feeling may contribute to reluctance to seek or
continue treatment. Therapists often begin by offering encouragement and affirming clients’
progress to build motivation and self-efficacy. However, people high in FPE might experience
such positive feedback as anxiety-provoking rather than reassuring. This anticipation of future inadequacy transforms even supportive therapeutic relationships into potential sources of evaluation anxiety, further discouraging help-seeking behavior.

Thus, FPE and FNE both represent aspects of social evaluative concern that can prevent
psychological openness and help-seeking. While both forms of fear focus on sensitivity to others’ judgments, they differ in their triggers, criticism versus praise, but share similar consequences for avoidance and emotional distress. Recent research, however, suggests that self-compassion may buffer these fears by fostering a sense of unconditional self-acceptance that is less dependent on others’ evaluations.

Self-Compassion
Self-compassion involves treating oneself with kindness and understanding rather than
self-criticism when facing difficulties or suffering (Neff, 2003). According to Neff (2003), self-
compassion has three dimensions: self-kindness versus self-judgment (treating oneself with
understanding rather than harsh criticism), common humanity versus isolation (recognizing that suffering and imperfection are part of the shared human experience rather than feeling alone in one’s struggles), and mindfulness versus over-identification (maintaining balanced awareness of painful thoughts and emotions instead of becoming overwhelmed by them). Together, these components create a helpful method of fostering self-acceptance and understanding, which promotes emotional resilience and adaptive coping in the face of challenges (Neff, 2003).
 

From a theoretical perspective, self-compassion offers a stable internal validation that
reduces reliance on others’ approval. People high in self-compassion tend to evaluate themselves based on intrinsic worth rather than external judgment (Neff & Germer, 2017). This reduced dependence on external validation is applicable to evaluation-based fears by reducing the psychological impact of others’ opinions. In contrast, those low in self-compassion often depend heavily on external validation, leaving them vulnerable to shame, self-criticism, and avoidant behaviors when faced with real or imagined judgment (Gilbert et al., 2010).
 

Recent evidence supports the idea that self-compassion may buffer the effects of
evaluation fears in interpersonal and achievement contexts. Long and Neff (2018) conducted a large-scale study of 691 undergraduates to examine whether self-compassion predicted reduced fears of both negative and positive evaluation and greater willingness to engage in classroom communication behaviors. Using mediation analyses, they found that higher self-compassion was significantly associated with lower fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and fear of positive evaluation (FPE), which in turn predicted greater openness in communicating with instructors, asking questions, and participating in class discussions. Importantly, these indirect effects remained significant even when controlling for self-esteem, suggesting that self-compassion uniquely lowers self-presentation concerns by fostering a stable sense of self-acceptance that is less dependent on external validation. The authors interpreted these findings as evidence that self-compassion serves a protective function, allowing people to tolerate the possibility of judgment without withdrawing or avoiding social interaction.
 

Building on this work, researchers have begun to examine whether self-compassion is
also correlated with help-seeking for mental health problems. Self-compassionate people tend to use more approach-oriented coping strategies: they are more willing to confront their problems, acknowledge personal limitations, and seek support when needed (Allen & Leary, 2010).
 

Consistent with this idea, Min et al. (2022) found that higher self-compassion was associated with greater intentions to seek help for mental health concerns, and that these help-seeking intentions were in turn linked to better psychological outcomes. Together, this research suggests that self-compassion may support help-seeking by encouraging a more open, approach-oriented stance toward psychological difficulties.
 

Focusing more specifically on anxiety in evaluative situations, research shows that self-compassion predicts lower social anxiety even when accounting for self-esteem. Werner et al. (2012) and Kim et al. (2022) reported that individuals with higher self-compassion showed lower levels of social anxiety even after controlling for self-esteem. This suggests that self-compassion may contribute something beyond global self-worth, or a general sense of feeling valuable and good about oneself. Rather than working only through positive self-evaluation, self-compassion may lessen the tendency to interpret evaluation as a personal threat and to respond with harsh self-criticism when imperfections are exposed. In evaluative moments, self-compassionate people may be more likely to meet discomfort with understanding and perspective, which reduces anticipatory fear of social judgment. Because initiating mental health help-seeking often requires disclosure and the possibility of negative evaluation, this reduced fear of judgment may make it easier to reach out for support in the first place.
 

Based on these studies, self-compassion appears to operate as both a direct and indirect
facilitator of help-seeking. Directly, it encourages self-acceptance and reduces self-stigma related psychological struggles. Indirectly, it diminishes fears of evaluation that can prevent people from disclosing distress or seeking professional help. By helping people to cultivate a sense of internal safety and nonjudgmental self-awareness, self-compassion allows people to approach psychological difficulties without the avoidance often caused by social anxiety. Therefore, self-compassion may serve as a key psychological resource that reduces evaluation-related fears and promotes openness to seeking help.

Overview of the Current Study
Although professional psychological help has been shown to be highly effective in
improving emotional well-being and reducing symptoms of mental disorders, actual help-seeking rates remain low (Goetter et al., 2020; Nordgren et al., 2014). Many people who experience psychological distress delay or completely avoid seeking treatment, leading to worsening mental health outcomes and lower quality of life (Rickwood et al., 2005). Encouraging help-seeking is therefore an important goal, as early intervention is associated with better treatment outcomes and reduced long-term costs (Gulliver et al., 2010). Understanding the psychological barriers that discourage people from seeking mental health services is essential to improving these outcomes.
 

A large amount of research identifies stigma, shame, and fear of social judgment as key
deterrents to help-seeking (Aguirre Velasco et al., 2020; Clement et al., 2015; Gulliver et al.,
2010). These barriers often operate through evaluation fears, concerns about how others might perceive one’s mental health struggles or the act of seeking help itself. Fear of negative
evaluation (FNE) may manifest as worries about being judged as weak, unstable, or incapable if one admits to needing professional help. Similarly, fear of positive evaluation (FPE) may involve anxiety about maintaining others’ positive impressions after revealing vulnerability or distress, as people may fear disappointing others’ expectations once they disclose their struggles. Both types of evaluation fears can lead to avoidance behaviors, such as withdrawing from social interactions, or hesitating to seek support from professionals.
 

While prior research has examined the relationships between self-compassion and fear of
evaluation, as well as between evaluation fears and help-seeking, few studies have directly integrated these constructs to explore how self-compassion might promote help-seeking behavior by lowering FNE and FPE. Only Long and Neff (2018) have examined a related model, showing that self-compassion predicted greater willingness to engage in academic communication through lower FNE and FPE. While this finding supports the buffering role of self-compassion against evaluative concerns, it was situated within an academic context rather than a mental health setting. Whether the same mechanism operates in the context of psychological help-seeking remains unclear. Addressing this gap is critical for understanding how self-compassion may mitigate external judgment concerns and foster help-seeking intentions.
 

The current study aimed to examine whether self-compassion would predict willingness
to seek professional psychological help and to test whether this relationship would be mediated by fears of negative and positive evaluation (FNE and FPE). Building upon prior research demonstrating that self-compassion buffers against evaluation-related distress (Long & Neff, 2018), this study sought to extend these findings to a mental health context. Participants completed an online survey administered through Prolific. Only participants who reported experiencing symptoms of social anxiety were eligible to participate, as evaluation-related fears, such as fear of negative and positive evaluation, are most prominent in socially anxious individuals (Weeks et al., 2008; Weeks & Howell, 2012). The survey included validated measures assessing self-compassion, fear of negative evaluation (FNE), fear of positive evaluation (FPE), help-seeking attitudes and intentions, and past help-seeking behaviors. Self-esteem and social anxiety severity were controlled for, as self-compassion is positively correlated with self-esteem (Neff, 2003) and both constructs are inversely related to social anxiety symptoms (Werner et al., 2012). Controlling for these variables helps isolate the unique contribution of self-compassion to help-seeking tendencies beyond general self-worth or anxiety severity. I hypothesized that FNE and FPE would mediate the relationship between self-compassion and professional help-seeking, such that people higher in self-compassion would experience less FNE and FPE, which would predict their openness to seeking professional help when needed.

Method
 

Procedure
Participants were recruited in Prolific for an online study of people’s feelings about
seeking help. Participants first provided informed consent and completed a commitment request. Participants who did not commit to providing thoughtful answers were redirected to the end of the survey. Next, participants completed all survey measures in counterbalanced order, followed by demographics questions. Finally, participants read a short debriefing statement.
 

Measures
Self-Compassion
Self-compassion was assessed using the 12-item Self-Compassion Scale–Short Form
(SCS–SF; Raes et al., 2011). Prior research has shown that the short form correlates highly with the full 26-item Self-Compassion Scale (r = .97; Raes et al., 2011), supporting its use as a brief measure of self-compassion. The 12-item SCS-SF assesses six components of self-compassion: self-kindness vs. self-judgment (“I try to be understanding and patient towards those aspects of my personality I don’t like”), self-judgment, common humanity vs. isolation (“When I’m feeling down, I tend to feel like most other people are probably happier than I am”), and mindfulness vs. over-identification (“When something upsets me I try to keep my emotions in balance”). Participants responded to each item using a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). After reverse-coding the items in the self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification scales, a composite self-compassion score was computed by taking the mean of all items, with higher scores indicating greater self-compassion (α = .87).

Self-Esteem
Participants’ self-esteem was assessed using the Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale (Robins
et al., 2001), which has demonstrated strong convergent validity with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Robins et al., 2001). Participants rated the extent to which they agreed with the item “I have high self-esteem” on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (not very true of me) to 5 (very true of me), with higher scores indicating greater self-esteem.

Help-Seeking Behavior Questionnaire
Participants’ actual help-seeking behavior was assessed using a measure developed by
Rickwood and Braithwaite (1994). Participants were asked if they had sought or received help
for a mental health problem over the past three months. Participants were asked to respond to
this question by checking all the applicable choices. Responses included: “I have sought or
received help from a professional source (for example, family doctor, mental health service,
educational help service),” “I have sought or received help from my informal social network (for example, friend or family member),” and “I have not sought help for a mental health problem.” Participants who sought professional help were scored as 1, and those who selected either of the other two options were coded as 0.

Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale
Participants completed the Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale (FPE; Weeks et.al., 2008),
which has been shown to correlate with social anxiety and self-compassion. The 10-item FPE
assesses a person’s fear of being evaluated positively by others (e.g., “I am uncomfortable
exhibiting my talents to others, even if I think my talents will impress them”). Among the items, one item was reverse-worded (“If I have something to say that I think a group will find
interesting, I typically say it”). Participants responded to each item using a 10-point scale ranging from 0 (Not At All True) to 9 (Very True). After reverse-coding the reverse-worded item, a composite score was computed by taking the mean of all items, with higher scores indicating greater FPE (α = .80).

Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale
Participants completed the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE; Leary, 1983)
to assess fear of being evaluated negatively by others. Prior work supports the BFNE as a valid
indicator of fear of negative evaluation: The 12-item BFNE shows strong convergence with the original FNE (r =.96) and demonstrates convergent validity with social anxiety measures (Leary, 1983). The BFNE has 12 items (e.g., “I worry about what other people will think of me even when I know it doesn’t make a difference”). Among these items, four items were reverse-worded (e.g., “I rarely worry about what kind of impression I am making on someone”). Participants responded to each item using a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (Not At All Characteristic of Me) to 5 (Extremely Characteristic of Me). After reverse-coding all the reverse-worded items, a composite score was computed by taking the mean of all items, with higher scores indicating greater FNE (α = .91).

Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Form
Participants completed the 10-item Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological
Help-Short Form (ATSPPH-SF; Fischer & Farina, 1995). The ATSPPH-SF has demonstrated good psychometric properties, including strong convergent validity with the original 29-item scale (r = .87; Fischer & Farina, 1995). The scale assesses people’s attitudes, beliefs, and openness toward using professional mental health services (e.g., “If I believed I was having a mental breakdown, my first inclination would be to get professional attention”). Half of the items were reverse-worded (e.g., “The idea of talking about problems with a psychologist strikes me as a poor way to get rid of emotional conflicts”). Participants responded to each item using a 4-point scale, ranging from 1 (Disagree) to 4 (Agree). After reverse-coding the reverse-worded items, a composite score was calculated by taking the mean of all items, with higher scores reflecting more positive attitudes toward seeking professional help (α = .86).

Severity Measure for Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)—Adult
Participants completed the 10-item Severity Measure for Social Anxiety Disorder (Social
Phobia)—Adult (SM-SAD; Craske et.al., 2013), which assesses the severity of symptoms of
social anxiety disorder (social phobia) in adults. Prior work supports the reliability and construct validity of the DSM-5 Severity Measure for Social Anxiety Disorder–Adult. In a treatment-seeking SAD sample, the scale showed high internal consistency (α = .86) and demonstrated convergent validity via correlations with clinician-rated fear or avoidance (r = .50). Participants responded to each item (e.g., “I have felt moments of sudden terror, fear, or fright in social situations”) using a 5-point scale, ranging from 0 (Never) to 4 (All of the Time); no items were reverse-worded.  A composite score was calculated by computing the mean of all items, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety in social situations (α = .90).

Discussion

The present study sought to examine whether fear of positive and fear of negative
evaluation mediated the relationship between self-compassion and two help-seeking outcomes: attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help and help-seeking behavior. Past research has consistently shown that people high (vs. low) in self-compassion are less likely to criticize themselves, less likely to fear evaluation, and more likely to acknowledge personal difficulties (Long & Neff, 2018; Neff, 2003; Werner et al., 2012). Based on this work, I hypothesized that FNE and FPE would mediate the relationship between self-compassion and professional help-seeking, such that people higher in self-compassion would be less likely to experience FNE and FPE, which would predict their openness to seeking professional help when needed.
 

However, the results provided only partial support for these predictions. As expected, self-compassion significantly predicted lower FNE and FPE individually, but when both were entered into the regression equation, self-compassion significantly predicted only FNE. In addition, contrary to the hypotheses, neither form of evaluative fear significantly predicted help-seeking attitudes or behavior, and therefore neither served as a mediator. Self-compassion also did not directly predict either help-seeking outcome. These findings suggest that although self-compassion was correlated with lower fears of being evaluated, these fears may not be central mechanisms shaping help-seeking decisions in this sample.
 

The finding that self-compassion predicted lower FNE and FPE patterns was consistent with theoretical models proposing that self-compassion provides a stable sense of self-worth that is not contingent on social approval. According to Neff (2003), self-compassion reduces the need to evaluate the self constantly against others or to maintain an image of flawlessness. Instead, people with greater self-compassion may view mistakes or social imperfections as part of the shared human experience, thereby lowering the emotional stakes of being assessed by others.
 

Self-compassion has also been widely suggested to be a protective psychological resource that promotes emotional openness, reduces self-criticism, and increases willingness to face personal problems (Neff, 2003). These ideas have led some researchers to suggest that self-compassion should promote professional help-seeking (Terry & Leary, 2011). However, empirical findings on this question have been mixed. Some studies have found that self-compassion predicts greater openness to mental health treatment (Heath et al., 2018), whereas others reported that self-compassion did not significantly predict the willingness to seek help (Wasylkiw & Clairo, 2018). One possibility is that the relationship between self-compassion and help-seeking is moderated by other variables. For example, self-compassion might only predict help-seeking among people with higher mental health literacy and among those with lower practical barriers to seeking help (e.g., time, money, insurance coverage, access). In these contexts, self-compassion may reduce shame and defensiveness, making disclosure and engagement with services more feasible. When barriers are high, self-compassion may still buffer distress without translating into service use.

Measurement Specificity: General Evaluative Fears Versus Therapy-Specific Stigma
The lack of association between evaluative fears and help-seeking outcomes was inconsistent with previous research that shows social anxiety and related fears are associated with lower willingness to seek help from mental health professionals (Vogel et al., 2007). However, many of these studies focused on internal self-stigma or anticipated stigma, which involved people’s concerns about how their identity would be judged if they sought treatment (Schnyder et al., 2018). The FPE and FNE measures did not capture this concern as the items assessed more general (rather than therapy-specific) fears of being evaluated by others in everyday social contexts, such as worrying that others don’t like them and worrying about being perceived as a bad person. Help-seeking often activates a different set of evaluative concerns, including self-stigma (e.g., “Why am I so weak that I can’t handle this by myself?”), anticipated
public stigma (e.g., “Will others think I am weak or unstable if they know I see a therapist?”), fear of being labeled with a mental health diagnosis, and anxiety about revealing highly personal information to a stranger. Therapy-specific measures that assessed treatment-specific stigma, internalized shame about seeking help, or beliefs about therapy might have been better mediators. Self-compassion may be especially relevant for reducing shame and negative beliefs about therapy, which are closely tied to whether people feel comfortable approaching a mental health professional.

Structural, Socioeconomic Barriers and Time to Help-Seeking
A second reason why this mediation path did not work might be structural and
socioeconomic constraints that limit access to professional psychological services, sometimes
regardless of people’s attitudes or internal characteristics (Krzyz et al., 2023). Help-seeking is
not just a psychological decision; other considerations such as financial resources, insurance
coverage, time, and institutional availability can make ongoing therapy unrealistic even for
people who feel ready and willing to seek help (Rowan et al., 2013). For example, high out-of-
pocket costs, inadequate insurance, long waitlists, restricted hours, and limits on the number of sessions can all prevent people from pursuing treatment. These institutional and socioeconomic barriers operate largely outside of the internal processes examined in this study. Self-compassion may lower emotional barriers such as shame or fear, but it does not directly address cost, time, or resource constraints. Consequently, structural factors may weaken association between self-compassion and actual help-seeking behavior, so the present findings do not necessarily mean that self-compassion is irrelevant to help-seeking.
 

Time constraints can be another obstacle. Many people struggle to manage time between family, employment, and social obligations, all of which limit their ability to attend regular appointments. Counseling centers often have limited hours on the number of sessions available. When therapy requires rearranging schedules, missing work, or dealing with unpredictable wait times, people may not pursue it even when they believe therapy could be beneficial.

Mental Health Literacy
Mental health literacy further explains negative attitudes toward seeking professional
help. Help-seeking not only depends on experiencing distress but also on recognizing that a
problem exists (Yang et al., 2023), understanding that people can benefit from professional help, and knowing how to access those services. Self-compassion does not necessarily provide this kind of knowledge. People can be kind, understanding, and nonjudgmental toward themselves yet still misinterpret symptoms, underestimate the potential benefits of therapy, or lack information about where and how to seek help.
 

Taken together, finance , time availability and mental health literacy may have
moderated the extent to which self-compassion (and evaluative fears) translated into professional help-seeking. Specifically, when people have sufficient time and know where and how to access services, self-compassion may be more likely to facilitate help-seeking by reducing defensiveness and making disclosure feel safer. In contrast, when time and money are
constrained or mental health literacy is low, these psychological tendencies may matter less,
because practical barriers and limited problem recognition prevent people from pursuing
treatment. If people did not see their situation as needing professional support, they were
unlikely to pursue treatment, regardless of how self-compassionate or socially anxious they were. This combination of factors offered a compelling explanation for the absence of significant relationships between self-compassion, evaluative fears, and help-seeking outcomes in the current study.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the present study tested whether FNE and FPE mediated the association
between self-compassion and help-seeking outcomes. Although the hypothesized mediation
model was not supported, the findings supported known links between self-compassion and
social-evaluative processes and clarified the limits of these processes as predictors of
professional help use. Future research that incorporates therapy-specific stigma and structural
constraints may provide a more complete understanding of how, when, and for whom self-
compassion influences decisions to seek mental health support.

Note from the editors: this publication is part of a longer thesis. While some sections have been cut to improve accessibility, the findings of the study have remained unchanged.