Your relationship with yourself is just like any other relationship. It requires time, effort, and nourishment to grow. Learning to show yourself love in recovery is one of the hardest and most rewarding endeavors you will ever partake in. It is easy to get caught up in negative perceptions of yourself because so much of your identity was wrapped up in previous versions of you. Now that you have found freedom in recovery, you may be wondering how to put all the pieces back together.
You have already completed the hardest part of the journey by finding sobriety. Now is the time for you to show yourself love in recovery. It is important not to neglect yourself. You can learn to treat yourself like you would treat your best friend. After all, you are on a journey of self-awareness. Here are a few ways to show love to yourself in recovery through yoga and meditation, mindfulness, and individual therapy.
Forgive Yourself With Love in Recovery
If you’re like most people, you are your own worst critic. That’s why forgiveness is so important in recovery. At times, you can be harder on yourself than anyone else is. It’s good to remember that you cannot change who you were in the past, nor can you change the things you have done. The only thing that you can change is how you learn and grow from those things. When you focus on the past, you detract from what you are learning in the present moment.
Forgiveness takes time and is an ongoing process. It is easy to say that you forgive yourself. However, the true art of forgiveness is when you can talk about the event with no blame. To start, forgive yourself for the things that you are not proud of. This will create more space for you to love yourself in recovery.
Practice Gratitude With Love in Recovery
It is easy to think about the things you love in your life. However, it may be hard to reflect on the attributes that you love about yourself. Practice gratitude to become happier with your life and yourself. Think about all the things you have accomplished thus far and your good qualities. Be grateful for yourself and your recovery.
Change your brain from the negative thoughts that present themselves to positive thoughts. You have the power to change how your brain is wired. For example, you may try setting ten minutes each day to list the things about yourself that you are grateful for.
Celebrate the Small Stuff
It seems that everyone wants to celebrate the big things, like birthdays, weddings, graduations, and anniversaries. Why not set a new trend in your recovery and celebrate the small things? No victory in your life is too small to celebrate in recovery. Everything is a big deal and it is your big deal. You can go all out or start small. No matter what you celebrate, when you do this you are loving yourself in recovery. You are a big deal and all of your accomplishments need to be celebrated.
Boundaries Within Love Recovery
Sometimes setting boundaries can be hard as you want to help others and engage in social circles. Boundaries consist of setting standards for your life and determining the lines you will not cross in your recovery. At The Guest House, we will help you explore the areas within your life where you need to create boundaries. This can make your recovery journey easier. You are choosing to let others know that you value yourself. Cultivating boundaries is important to prevent potential relapse and this is just one example of loving yourself in recovery.
Individual Therapy With Love in Recovery
It is never too late to try or go back to individual therapy. This is the oldest form of psychotherapy, as known as “talk” therapy. A trained professional is utilized as your guide to help assist with exploring healthy coping skills within your journey. At The Guest House, we are aware that sitting with emotions that you are avoiding or feelings that you are not used to can be uncomfortable. Individual therapy will help increase your tolerance for your feelings and thoughts. This will help you cultivate a better understanding of yourself and explore self-love in recovery.
Be Mindful in Recovery
Mindfulness is the practice of being present in recovery. This art teaches you to experience each moment with full attention. When practiced with yoga and meditation, mindfulness empowers you to take control of your thoughts and recognize that you have the power to reshape how your brain works. One benefit of mindfulness is that you can practice anywhere at all. You just need an open mind to experience events with awareness.
Daily Reflections
Although it can be hard to form a new habit, practicing daily reflections is important. Paying attention to your feelings, awareness, and emotions can foster a new sense of self. You have not arrived here by accident and your journey is worth reflecting upon. When you engage in self-reflection, you are loving yourself within the moment. As you gain more understanding of yourself, this leads to greater self-love. You have come a long way. Do not stop now, as the best is yet to come.
Showing yourself love can be hard, especially when this is not your norm. Practicing loving yourself in recovery may be a foreign concept. However, with several easy steps, you could be on your way. The hard part is showing up to find recovery and you have already done that. Showing up for yourself every day proves that you are traveling down the road to loving yourself in recovery. At The Guest House, we truly want to see you be the best version of yourself. We value self-love in recovery and will do what it takes to guide you there. If you or someone you know is struggling with self-love in recovery, give us a call at (855) 483-7800 today!