{"id":758,"date":"2020-02-09T22:08:09","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T05:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/?p=758"},"modified":"2020-02-09T22:08:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T05:08:38","slug":"love-yourself-healthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/ucan\/love-yourself-healthy\/","title":{"rendered":"Love Yourself Healthy"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve probably already heard of all the talk, clich\u00e9s and mantras about self-love, especially with Valentine’s Day just around the corner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And as cheesy as it sounds, it\u2019s totally true. Researchers have found that self-love and health go hand-in-hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what does self-love actually look like and how would you even do it?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"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.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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\u2019re totally awesome.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some days it\u2019s easy to love yourself, because you feel awesome.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other days…not so much.<\/span><\/p>\n

But here\u2019s 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\u2019re not really feeling it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Self-love is a \u201cfake it till you make it\u201d sort of thing some days, and that\u2019s ok.<\/span><\/p>\n

The benefits of a self-love journey?<\/span><\/p>\n

You will see yourself feeling less stressed and giving yourself more compassion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Opposing that reaction with trust and warmth towards ourselves releases the hormone oxytocin and decreases that stress.<\/span><\/p>\n

Self-love and self-compassion are GOOD for your health!<\/span><\/p>\n

How can you start to do this?<\/span><\/p>\n

Especially since Valentine’s Day is coming up, it\u2019s pretty easy – do all the things for yourself that you would do for someone else.<\/span><\/p>\n