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How Can We Practice Self-Love?

When we are embroiled in our addictions and consumed by our mental illnesses, self-love can feel impossible to achieve. It can feel like that elusive quality we often hear about, and we know how important it is, but we feel unable to experience it for ourselves. We feel self-love is reserved for those among us who are good enough, talented enough, attractive enough, smart enough. We feel sure that we’re too shameful, too inadequate and too unworthy to deserve self-love. How can we heal our shame and our self-hatred? How can we learn self-love?

Self-love is something we must practice, something we must commit to. We must tend to our inner selves and cultivate self-love within ourselves every day with diligence and dedication. We must become vigilant about the ways in which we’re talking to and about ourselves, how we’re thinking about ourselves, and how we’re treating ourselves. We have to become mindful of our self-talk, our self-image and our self-perception. Learning self-love is learning how to shed the toxic, self-deprecating relationship we have with ourselves and replacing it with one that is self-nurturing, self-soothing and self-empowering.

What are your default, go-to thoughts and feelings when you are the subject at hand? Does your mind instinctively jump to your insecurities and flaws? Do you automatically think about what a bad, shameful person you are? Are you quick to point out all the things you’ve done wrong, all your limitations, all your transgressions and mistakes? Are you withholding compassion and forgiveness from yourself? Are you refusing to view yourself with empathy and understanding?

Whenever we think self-deprecating, belittling thoughts about ourselves, instead of just allowing them to be there without questioning or challenging them, let’s explore where they came from. Why do we hate ourselves? Are we blaming ourselves for the pain in our lives? Are we beating ourselves up for being addicts? Are we shaming ourselves for being mentally ill? Have we internalized our trauma to be a reflection of our inadequacy and evidence of our unworthiness? The more we examine the origins of our self-hatred, the more we reclaim our power over it.

Let’s actively work to redirect our thoughts and release ourselves from the clutches of our negative, toxic thought patterns. Let’s consciously start building ourselves up. Let’s affirm, validate, encourage and motivate ourselves. “I believe in you. I know you can heal. I love you. You are more than good enough. You are powerful beyond measure. I have faith in you.”

Are you ready to take the first step on your journey to recovery? Call The Guest House today! 855-483-7800.