The Importance of Loving Yourself
In the month of February, you may be overwhelmed with images of hearts and love because it's the month in which we celebrate Valentine's Day. It seems as though love can only be nurtured and celebrated if you're giving it away to someone else, but that isn't true. The most important relationship you will ever have is actually with yourself!
Taking time to learn to love yourself is important, especially on the road to recovery. Recovery isn't linear and can look different for everyone; even still, it's important to practice self-love wherever you are in the process. This blog will discuss various methods for practicing self-love in ways that will positively impact your life.
Practice Self Compassion
The easiest way to start developing self-compassion is to forgive yourself. You are human, and no human is perfect. If you forgive yourself, it does not mean that you are condoning your past actions or not allowing yourself to mess up in the future. However, it allows you not to view yourself as a villain. It will encourage you to say that you are worthy of change and growth.
A great exercise to practice self-compassion is to start a journal. In the journal, you can let yourself write your thoughts without judgment. Holding thoughts in and keeping them to yourself can negatively affect your mental health, but putting ideas to paper allows yourself space between them.
If you're struggling to talk to yourself kindly, journaling is also a great way to practice positive self-talk. You can write about what you're going through from the perspective of giving advice to a friend because people tend to be more kind, open-minded, and pragmatic when talking to their friends. Positive self-talk can go a long way to practicing self-love in recovery.
Set Goals
Setting goals can help you move forward in recovery. It's important to make goals that are specific and realistic. You can eventually work up to bigger goals, but don't start with big goals immediately. If you do this, you may be setting yourself up for failure. Allow yourself to start small — which is okay; you are still starting!
A great way to think about starting your goals is you can't run a marathon if you've never walked a mile. Eventually, with training, time, and consistent effort, you can run a marathon. And when you hit a goal, even if it seems small, it is a great idea to celebrate.
Build Routines
When life gets busy, it is easy to let seemingly small things fall to the wayside, things like self-care and self-love. It's important to reframe and prioritize these on the road to recovery.
A great way to not let yourself forget to practice self-love is to build it into your daily routine. It doesn't have to be a big thing, but it can just be ten minutes of your time. Ten minutes to meditate or walk around your block. Taking some time out of your day, every day, to do a small act of self-love can help set you up for feeling happier.
Listening To Your Boundaries
Setting boundaries is a healthy way to ensure you stay on the path of recovery and self-love. Allowing yourself to say no to things that you don't feel comfortable with will allow you to create a life that you love and brings you happiness.
It can be hard to keep positive thoughts in your mind while on the hard road of recovery, but allowing yourself to remove yourself from situations that don't feel right is a great way to protect yourself. Taking care of yourself is hard, but you deserve to be taken care of.
Dual-Diagnosis Treatment at Grace Land Recovery
Grace Land Recovery is a dual-diagnosis addiction treatment center located in the Memphis, Tennessee, area. We believe in a holistic approach to treatment that prioritizes your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being to provide you with the tools you need to heal.
Recovery can be hard, but you don't have to do it alone. For any recovery questions contact Grace Land Recovery at (901) 519-2655!
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