You’ve probably already heard of all the talk, clichés and mantras about self-love, especially with Valentine’s Day just around the corner.
And as cheesy as it sounds, it’s totally true. Researchers have found that self-love and health go hand-in-hand.
But what does self-love actually look like and how would you even do it?
Learning to love yourself is the journey of letting go of those negative thoughts or intentions, and replacing them with positive vibes and radical self-care.
It’s all about acknowledging the things around you that will help you grow and embracing the journey. Self-love involves making an intentional choice to accept everything about you…because…well…you’re totally awesome.
Some days it’s easy to love yourself, because you feel awesome.
Other days…not so much.
But here’s the thing – love is more than a feeling. Yes, it is hard some days to FEEL love towards yourself. But, love is a verb that manifests itself through actions. Love is something you DO with INTENTION on days when you’re not really feeling it.
Self-love is a “fake it till you make it” sort of thing some days, and that’s ok.
The benefits of a self-love journey?
You will see yourself feeling less stressed and giving yourself more compassion.
When you are stressed and giving yourself more criticism, you are activating your sympathetic nervous system. The reaction signals your body with the flight or fight response and results in an elevation in the stress hormone cortisol and floods our bloodstream.
Opposing that reaction with trust and warmth towards ourselves releases the hormone oxytocin and decreases that stress.
Self-love and self-compassion are GOOD for your health!
How can you start to do this?
Especially since Valentine’s Day is coming up, it’s pretty easy – do all the things for yourself that you would do for someone else.
- Buy yourself those chocolates, because I mean who doesn’t love chocolate? You see those pretty red roses at the supermarket. You want them? BUY THEM. You deserve it.
- Start off your day with writing down 3 things that make you who you are and finding the value in those qualities.
- Catch your self-talk and write it down. Is this something you would say to your closest friend? What would they say if you did?
- Sit down with yourself and meditate. Just a few minutes can create a space for you to help quiet your mind of all those negative thoughts about yourself.
Lyndsay Bottoms, Health Coach