What is self-love?
Self-love is a term you’ll hear even in casual conversation. You’ve probably heard, “You need to love yourself more.” If you don’t love yourself, you can’t love someone else. But when we talk about things like self-love, do we really understand what we’re talking about?
Loving yourself is an action and a choice. It is a way of communicating with yourself that includes understanding your mistakes and strengths. Being able to communicate with yourself about life without judgment.
Research has shown that learning how to love yourself is associated with:
Less anxiety and depression
Better stress recovery
A more optimistic outlook on life
Better compliance with healthy changes in behavior
In short, self-love is the way you look at and treat yourself.
Why is self-love important?
Learning how to love yourself is important to living a happier, healthier life and in every aspect of life in general. It affects the people you choose for your life, the image you show of your workplace, the way you do things, the way you raise your children, the way you interact with people around you, and the way you deal with problems in life.
Why might we lack self-love?
Low self-esteem or lack of self-love is something that can develop in childhood and continue into adulthood, or it can manifest itself only in adulthood. According to the National Self-Esteem Association, some of the negative behaviors that can result from a lack of self-love include:
Risky sexual activity
Alcohol and drug abuse
Self-harm
Appetite-related disorder
As mentioned above, you may lack self-love for a variety of reasons or habits. This can be due to the actions of those around you and a traumatic event in your life, because you lack a good example of self-love.
But an important thing to remember is that low self-esteem due to lack of self-love is not an accurate reflection of reality, but rather a reflection of your perception of reality!
Tips for learning how to love yourself
While self-love is not necessarily innate, it can be learned. Here are some helpful tips on how to love yourself:
Know your feelings
You’ve probably heard the cliché saying, “The first step to overcoming a problem is admitting it exists.” So one of the first steps in learning how to love yourself is to be aware of yourself.
We all experience different emotions throughout our lives such as sadness, anger, frustration, loneliness, happiness and more. It is important to take a moment to understand how you feel at that moment and why!
why are you upset? why are you angry? why are you happy? It is important to know how you feel and when you know your feelings, accept them. Whether you want to feel it or not, it’s there. Pause for a moment and feel companionship with it.
Look at your feelings from the outside
How would you feel if you saw your loved one experiencing your feelings at that moment? Then, think about how to encourage them to continue. What’s funny about our lives and thoughts is that we treat ourselves completely differently than we treat others.
While we may calm people down with our positive demeanor, we need calming ourselves more than anyone else! Look at this situation with a kind eye and be kind to yourself. Love yourself in that moment and all moments.
Forgive yourself
This point has two main points:
First, decide what will happen to forgive yourself for any situation.
Second, make a conscious decision to forgive yourself.
Sometimes we can be hard on ourselves, but it’s important to give ourselves a break. You can be your own worst enemy at times. Once you believe you’ve made a mistake, decide what action you can take to correct it. Then, use self-talk to encourage yourself to take a step toward forgiveness.
Say no to others
Sometimes practicing self-love isn’t just about talking to ourselves kindly when we’re experiencing certain emotions. It can also be about taking care of yourself in the presence of others.
Set boundaries. Take time for yourself. If you think you need yourself, it’s okay to say no to people. Love yourself enough to make the right decision for yourself, not for someone else!
Self-love is an ongoing practice, an ongoing process, and an ongoing choice. You must constantly invest in yourself by working on things that create self-love.
Get expert advice
One way to continually make sure you’re focusing on how to love yourself and putting these tips into practice is to see a psychologist regularly for support.
In psychological health care, clinical psychologists are experienced in things like self-love and, as an impartial third party, can help you learn more effectively. Book an appointment with them and start your journey to learning how to love yourself. Self-love is vital to your overall health. Invest in yourself, because you matter.
Care about yourself as much as you care about others
It sounds simple, but many of us simply don’t do it because we think we’re selfish or that our own needs don’t matter. It’s not selfish to care about yourself. Self-compassion means showing concern for your feelings as well as others!
Two important things about loving yourself
The following two points can have a significant impact on self-love:
Maintain your boundaries
Make a list of things that you need emotionally, things that are important to you, and that would hurt or hurt your feelings if ignored or violated. It’s so important to feel cared for and know you can trust someone, and when someone ignores what’s important to you or crosses your line, they can hurt your feelings. Don’t ignore it, your feelings are there to tell you what is right and what is wrong!
Let people know what your boundaries are and what you will and can’t tolerate. If they apologize, you can forgive them. If they don’t do this or continue to ignore your boundaries and needs, you need to consider the consequences.
For example, if you tell your partner that you need them to listen and validate your feelings when you talk about something, but they constantly ignore you or tell you that you can’t handle it. , you have to look for someone else to trust with proper measures.
You may also need to rethink your relationship. Relationships are a two-way street, and you need to meet your own needs for love, acceptance, and respect as much as you do for the other person. Expressing yourself and taking action to meet your needs boosts self-esteem because it reinforces the belief in yourself and others that you are worthy of being loved and cherished.
Be yourself in doing things
First, figure out what makes you feel good. It doesn’t matter what it is, but be aware of how you feel when you do it. Do you feel tired at work but happy when you are in the garden? Do you enjoy reading books to your children? Find out what makes you feel good and do it as much as you can.
Feeling good is all the permission you need to do what you love to do, and the more you do it, the happier and more relaxed you’ll be. Maybe you need to spend more time alone or schedule an hour each weekend to visit an art gallery to boost your inner energy.
Maybe you need to save up some paint and brushes and join a club to meet like-minded people who inspire you. Do what it takes to be and love yourself and don’t let anyone blame you, criticize you, because they think you’re selfish, stupid or delusional. Ignore them, and then you’ll find that you’ll feel better, be around others better, and love yourself more.
final word
All of these things can help you feel accomplished, proud of what you do and who you are, and that you are worthy, talented, capable, lovable. So the most important person who should believe this is actually you! Give yourself the gift of happiness by feeling good about yourself.
I am waiting for your beautiful comments.
