Not all of us have the best relationship with ourselves. We are criticizing ourselves and we are too harsh on us, most of the times. With time, comes wisdom, and most of us learn then how to deal with our deepest negative emotions and learn how to love ourselves.
The relationship with ourselves is sometimes the most complicated in our lives, marked by internal struggles and difficult to make choices. When we lack a good view of ourselves, we are more likely to cause external conflicts and struggles. We are unlikely to develop and maintain healthy relationships with others. But a faulty view of yourself can be easily fixed by using several strategies. (1)
Create self-love habits
Finding and getting into habits which help you practice self-love is one of the best strategies you can apply to develop a healthy relationship with yourself. It’s surprising how many strategies work wonderfully for this purpose. For instance, thanking yourself for making the bed, for fixing yourself a meal, taking yourself on a date and making the most of your time spent with yourself.
Spend time analyzing how you feel on a daily basis and make resolutions of being kinder to yourself. Compliment yourself whenever you feel like you deserve it.
Reduce social media use
When you feel like you don’t tune in with yourself anymore, you can always try to reduce social media use for a day or two. Take a day off from using it and focus on living your life without external interferences. This will help you eliminate some of the FOMO syndrome symptoms we are all pressured by and to actually enjoy your own presence, without scrolling page after page of online content. This will help you become a kinder and more pleasant person and will boost your joy levels!
Practice forgiveness
Sometimes, it’s difficult to forgive others, but most difficult it seems to be forgiving ourselves. Not forgiving others or yourself puts an enormous burden and strain on yourself. You don’t forgive for others’ sake; you do it for your own good. The act of forgiving yourself and others is releasing all negative energy in your life and making peace with yourself and others. Practice forgiveness and this will turn you into a better person.
Help somebody out
When you have too much on your plate and feel helpless, the best way to make this feeling disappear is helping out somebody else. This will offer you the feeling you’re in control and will give you a positive energy kick. This will turn your energy 180 degree and will make you feel like you’re in control. When you have little control over your life, try to make others’ a little better.
Meditate
Meditation will offer you the opportunity to completely tune in with yourself and become more self-aware than ever. Find some online tutorials and try to get a better grasp of several meditation techniques. Practice meditation as frequently as possible and try to din the best methods to tune in with yourself. Meditation will also help you grow as a person and individual in more than one way.
Rediscover yourself
You will be surprised by how much a little self-discovery session will help you grow in unexpected ways. Rediscovery comes in many shapes and forms and you can explore whichever you feel you have to work on a bit more. If we’re discussing sexual rediscovery, think of experimenting things you have always been afraid to. Experiment with sex toys or whatever toys you find appealing.
Rediscover how pleasant keeping yourself company is and how to deal with solitude, even if, for many, this is the biggest punishment out there. When you have a great relationship with yourself, solitude is not a scary prospect anymore. It becomes strangely appealing.
Be easy on yourself
When you feel your relationship with yourself is going not as well as you’d like, remember not to take everything so seriously. Be easy on yourself and others and treat yourself with kindness. Try not to look too deeply into everything and overanalyze all things happening in your life. This is a sure way to become more critical of yourself and others.
Even negative events in your life should be seen with a positive eye. They allow you to grow and discover that your limits are others than you would expect.
Write your feelings out
Bottling up feelings is not a healthy way to deal with them. This usually leads to frustrations and resentment. To deal with your negative emotions better, you should practice writing your feelings and letting go. If something is bothering you more than it should, this will make your relationship with yourself more difficult than it should be.
Writing your negative feelings will also help you gain a new perspective and have a clearer view of the situation. Remember that acknowledging your feelings and accepting them is the first step to a healthier relationship with yourself and the world.
Mirror exercises
Some mirror work has been proven to raise self-esteem and help us deal better with ourselves. It has also been proven to help us accept us for what we are, rather than what we would like to be. Look at your reflection in the mirror and affirm love whenever you feel like your relationship with yourself deteriorates.
Mirror exercises of self-love and acceptance will make you realize that you deserve love and appreciation, even if it comes from yourself!
Be aware of your thinking processes
How you think of yourself is how you are. If you know that you’re prone to self-criticism, try to control this and ensure that you practice self-love and appreciation, instead.
Also, in terms of thinking, remember that not everything crossing your mind deserves your undivided attention, try to be picky in the process and try to remember there are fewer things that you expect deserving headaches and sleepless nights. (2)
Ana Miller is a creative writer. Her topics of interest and expertise range from psychology to all sorts of disciplines such as science and news.