You love your family, your friends, your cup of coffee, the trees outside your house, your neighbor’s cat, but what about yourself?
The inability to love yourself
Let’s be honest, most of us tend to be skimpy when it comes to expressing our love for ourselves. Of course, it does not mean that you become narcissistic, but self-love and self-compassion form the fundamental part of self-care.
If you don’t love yourself, you are more likely to self-sabotage. Lack of self-esteem them makes you undervalue and undersell yourself. It also has a grave impact on your quality of life.
It can also be an indicator of a mental health problems; people suffering from problems like depression that require treatment from a psychiatrist are more likely to engage in negative thoughts, especially that stem from lack of love for yourself.
Moreover, lack of love for one’s own self can also morph into more dangerous things like cutting and suicide ideation. Hence, it is imperative that the problem of self-hatred be addressed.
Unique ways to love yourself
To help you explore the avenues through which you can learn to love yourself more, we have rounded up some unique ways that you can explore.
Luxury time
We are often made to feel guilty about lazing around, but breaks are important. It is not possible for us to be working all the time. If we do, then we constantly drain our energies. It can then make us feel frustrated with ourselves, not to mention deprive ourselves of some healthy me-time.
So, try to replenish your energy levels by cutting out time to do activities that you love. This luxury time should be dedicated to exclusively pampering yourself, so not only do you act kinder to yourself, but your stress levels decrease too.
Social media hiatus
There is ample research that suggests the correlation between excessive use of social media and feelings of self-loathing. It enables us to feel bad about ourselves in various ways, whether it be the FOMO or the picture-perfect people, the pretty apparel or the prettiest faces, they all then makes one feel drabby and ugly.
It naturally then perpetuates self-hatred. So, to love yourself, go on a social media hiatus. There are plenty of other ways to connect with friends who matter, and these social media sites are not all there is to your friendship.
Turn to nature
Nature is like a balm to the wounded soul. Being out in the nature, away from the noises of the city that make you feel inadequate, can not only quell your inner critic, but also heal you.
Exploring nature, looking at the marvel of the world around you, breathing in the fresh and clean air can help you give perspective. It ends the constant need to be something other than what you are; you can be your true self in nature and embrace yourself with all your flaws then.
Tune the toxic out
It may seem weird at first to cut out people from our live to love yourself, but it makes perfect sense. Most of the time, it is the toxic people that make us feel inadequate. They perpetuate the concept within us that we are sorely lacking in all fields.
When we cut such people out, we halt the stream of negativity that consumes our thoughts and makes us hate ourselves. When the noise that made you feel horrible about yourself goes, there will be more meaningful silence that you can fill with words of self-compassion.
So, no matter how many years you have been in the proximity with the toxic person, remove them from your life, immediately.
Talk to a mental health expert
Even you, yourself, might not know why you hate yourself. A mental health expert like Psychiatrist in Rawalpindi can help you in figuring out the whys, and help you get on the path of wellness.
