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Love Yourself

Loving yourself is key in your recovery. Without some self-love, you have nothing. Self-love furthers your recovery by putting you in the driver’s seat. If you are influenced by outsiders who tell you that you are not deserving of love, you are never truly going to be able to love yourself. Loving yourself takes courage and effort.

You’re going to have to work on it for a while. Just like you cannot run a marathon a day after jogging once, you cannot magically learn to have self-love because you took a single spa day. You’re going to have to get down and dirty to truly learn about yourself and love yourself. Continue reading for more information.

Self-Awareness Leads to Self-Love

In order to love yourself, you must first have good awareness. What do you think about yourself? What feelings do you direct toward yourself? Getting to the root of your thoughts and emotions can be a tough process, so it’s important to be gentle with yourself. Traumas can get buried deep within us and may only come to the surface with a hard look at ourselves. Acknowledging these negative thoughts and feelings associated with your trauma is the first step to self-love.

Making sure not to act on these thoughts and feelings is the next step. Instead of acting on the negative thoughts, work on practicing a healthy pattern such as mindfulness. Mindfulness is being truly present in the moment, letting go of judgmental thoughts, and letting yourself feel the love you deserve. It might not be easy at first, but over time, it will become a healthy habit that you fall into without much thinking. Self-love isn’t just about your physical appearance. It’s about loving your mind, body, and spirit as a whole. True self-love is acceptance, comfort, trust, confidence, support, and love.

Where Do I Even Begin?

Self-love can be daunting upon first glance. You may not know where to begin. Luckily,
we’re here to help. Read the list below to find a good starting point for your journey of
self-love:

  •  Figure out how you feel right now.
  •  If you’ve been treating yourself negatively, apologize to yourself.
  •  Commit to loving yourself fully.
  •  Dig deep to understand what story you are truly telling yourself.
  •  Figure out what parts of your story you are keeping, changing, and letting go of.
  •  Recognize the things you already do that bring you joy.
  •  Start to love yourself today, even if it’s difficult.
  •  Be consistent and repetitive with your positive self-talk.
  •  Be mindful of your negative self-talk.
  •  Don’t try to be perfect.
  •  Be grateful for the present moment.

Self-Talk and Self-Care

How you talk to yourself is so important because it’s what impacts your feelings and behaviors, even if you don’t consciously realize it. Once you have decided to take the leap of loving yourself fully, take time to pay attention to your self-talk. Don’t be alarmed if you are rather harsh to yourself.

Negative mantras creep into our heads and keep us from succeeding. Soon, these thoughts congregate into a downward spiral in which you get dragged down. This can leave you feeling sad and anxious. You, however, are in control of the thoughts in your head. The sooner you realize your self-talk, the sooner you can correct or replace it. This leads you to a happier and healthier life full of self-love.

The Story You’re Telling Yourself

What is the story you are telling yourself? Are you unconsciously crafting one that is negative, or are you working hard to keep it positive? You may even be talking and acting one way to impress the outside world, but the story you are telling yourself is the complete opposite. Make the story you tell yourself a conscious step you take everyday. Slacking off only reinforces the negative patterns that you’ve worked so hard to erase. You’ve got to dig deep and recognize the story you’re telling yourself. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

  • What’s going to further your self-love story?
  • Does the pleasure of completing the self-love story outweigh the pain of not completing it?
  • Is what you’re thinking about doing a choice? Are you making this choice because you truly want to or because you think you should?
  • Will making this choice move you further to your goal of self-love?

How Can You Learn to Love Who You Really Are?

You’re going to have to put in the work to truly love yourself. It’s a daily choice you must make, but it is so worth it when it comes to your recovery. Releasing the trauma you have dealt with and letting go of those feelings associated with the trauma is one of the most liberating feelings in the world. How can you do that? Here are a few ideas:

  • Keep a thought journal and include the story you are telling yourself.
  • Figure out where the negative self-talk originated from.
  • If the story is negative, reframe it.
  • Focus on what you have achieved instead of focusing on your setbacks.
  • Take a step out of your comfort zone when it is safe to do so.
  • Practice mindfulness.

Be Your Best Self

Being your best self looks like love and acceptance. Allow yourself this gift of self-love so that you can truly live out your best self in your recovery. This includes being aware of your thoughts and how you let those thoughts influence your actions. Remember, you have the power. Take control of your negative self-talk and make it work for you.

The Guest House is here to help you practice self-love in your recovery. Call us
today at 855-483-7800. We can’t wait to start you on the path to health and healing. You are worth recovery, so don’t be afraid to reach out to us. We can’t wait to hear from you!