We all deserve the most important type of love: The importance of loving yourself
by Alejandra Ramos
A wall sign that says love in pink lights.
We all deserve the most important type of love: The importance of loving yourself
Ah yes the one holiday where most of us dread (especially me) which is none other than… Valentine’s Day.
The day where all couples get to have that extra love. The day where taken women get that big teddy bear and chocolates and the day where taken men get that special goody basket.
But what about the ones who are single? Don’t we need some love too?
Of course those who are single won’t be able to have that one special person to give their love therefore it’s important to learn about self-love. During this time, we have to love ourselves more than ever.
Self-love is an important factor of mental health because it’s a way of how we see and treat ourselves.
Do you have that little voice in your head that judges everything about you? Well that’s called your inner voice. If you want to start loving yourself then you might want to start talking more positive about yourself. A lot of us tend to only point out the negatives of ourselves but never the positives. When we do this, we become more critical of ourselves which can lead to anxiety, sadness, and hopelessness (Davis, 2015). Thinking negatively about yourself increases the chances of feeling miserable and feel that you can’t accomplish anything since we don’t think anything positive in ourselves. Improving your self-talk is a part of self-love therefore it’s best to practice positive self-talk.
There are many ways to begin the process of loving yourself (Stewart, 2018):
1. A simple exercise that everyone can do is when you look in the mirror and instead of seeing what you don’t like about yourself, you should compliment on yourself
2. Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone is special in their own way so why wouldn’t you want to be yourself?
3. It’s okay to make mistakes. We are not perfect human beings so we shouldn’t be hard on ourselves whenever we make a mistake
4. Let go of “friends” who are toxic. It’s never good to surround yourself with negativity. Instead, have friends who make you feel good about yourself
5. Ask for help. It’s okay to reach out when you are in a point in life where you feel hopeless
Loving yourself can be a difficult task but it’s not impossible! There might be times where it challenges you but we all deserve to be the best version of ourselves. Each individual is a bright light, it’s time that you see that in yourself as well.
Happy Valentine’s Day <3
References
Davis, T., (2015). Loving Yourself: Why and How to Do It. Berkeley Well-Being Institute.
https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/loving-yourself.html
Stewart, A., (2018). 13 Steps to Achieving Total Self-Love. Healthline