Your Most Important Relationship
We have to give ourselves a little of our own time.
We have to give ourselves a little of our own worry.
We have to encourage ourselves just as we encourage others.
Your relationship with yourself is crucial! It effects your outlook, your mood, your self-esteem, mindset, wellness and health. Having a strong foundation in this relationship is literally the starting point of anything in your life! That's why we are here today to cheer you on and give you some tips on how to love on yourself!
There are several ways you can work towards improving the most important relationship in your life!
Self Talk
Self talk is your internal dialogue! It is influenced by your subconscious and reveals your thoughts, beliefs, questions and ideas. Think of it as the voice in your head. The way this inner voice makes sense of the world around you has a great impact on your stress levels and health. If you have more negative self talk, you may be perceiving things in your life as more stressful than they truly need to be and create unnecessary stress for yourself. You may be interpreting negativity out of interactions that are well-meaning and positive! These patterns of negative or positive self talk are usually developed in childhood and based off role models in your lives - parents, siblings, friends.
What are some ways to improve your most important relationship?
- Prioritize basic self care - sleep, nutrition, exercise, rest, recreation and mental habits are the foundations of sustainable self-care
- Be kind to yourself - we don't mean shrug off responsibility but instead praising yourself and refraining from self-criticism and blaming
- Work on Thought-Stopping - when you notice you start to think negatively, tell yourself "stop" either mentally or aloud to stop the thought and recognize you are experiencing negative mental habits. A benefit of saying "stop" out loud is you can notice how often you are thought-stopping and in what situations.
- Speak differently to yourself (and about yourself) - start truly paying attention to your words when you are thinking or talking about yourself. When you look in the mirror - do you tear yourself down? Notice what you are saying to yourself about yourself! We know this is a difficult habit to change but the most important thing is to try for yourself!
- Avoid the "selfish" trap - so many of us are taught from a young age that if we do anything for ourselves it means we are being selfish. Yes it's important to recognize that being overly self-absorbed destroys relationships. However, when we are taught that anything associated with taking care of ourselves is considered selfish, that is a problem. It's important to recognize that being selfish can be described in positive and negative ways!
- Manage time on social media - social media is great, we love it! But it is also so important to plug out of the virtual world and plug into the real world sometimes.
Date yourself.
In all the relationships we have in our lives, there is usually some social and and "hanging out" involved. When was the last time you took yourself for a nice brunch? Or a simple, relaxing cup of coffee? How about loved on yourself? We mean that sexual love - research has shown a multitude of health benefits surrounding masturbation. Yes, yes we recognize its a touchy subject but studies have shown it has helped with creating a sense of well being. improving sleep, increasing self esteem, improving body image, reducing stress and sexual tension AND relieving menstrual cramps in women! Some can feel anxious or worried about masturbation because it has often been a bit social taboo but it's benefits are incredible in the research! It can be intimidating to start but all you need is a little bit of time and curiosity! ;)
Resources
https://www.psychologytoday.com/
https://www.verywellmind.com/
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/
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