Articles and Tips on Self-Love

It can be hard to find a little piece of inner calm—especially when things are hard. You probably know how much better you feel when you take time to find that calm place inside—but how many of us actually take the time to find that calm place when we are stressed out, or even on a regular basis?



Why We Deflect Compliments and Positive Messages, and How to Take Them In
Many of us hesitate to accept compliments or positive messages about ourselves. Some of us even outright deflect or reject them. Yet taking in a real compliment or acknowledging our successes can feel so good. It can help us feel better about ourselves, improve our self-image and self-confidence, and feel happiness or joy. So why do we not allow ourselves that healthy, healing experience?



Let Your Inner Child Play
With the rush, rush, rush of daily life, the many responsibilities we have, and the accumulation of painful experiences, many of us have forgotten how to play. We may have forgotten the simple joys you experienced as a child, or forgotten how to see beauty and wonder around us. We may even have lost some of our child-like joy and delight in the world. But there's a way to connect back to some of that happiness, or to increase it—by letting your inner child play.



Love Your Body, Love Yourself: 12 ways to improve your body image and self-esteem
Most of us, especially girls and women, are assaulted with negative messages about our bodies on a regular basis by magazines and newspapers, advertisements, "well meaning" family members, peers, and even friends. We're shown computer-manipulated images of the "perfect" body—a body that is not natural for the vast majority of us, and can only be obtained through self-abuse and starvation....



What to Do When You Feel Like Hurting Yourself
Self-harm is something that usually happens alone, and in secret. Those of us who hurt ourselves—or who used to hurt ourselves—may do it to relieve great emotional pain and distress; to avoid, distract from, or suppress overwhelming emotion; to try to feel better; to stop a painful memory or thought; to punish ourselves; to reenact childhood abuse or the messages our abusers taught us; to try to connect to ourselves; to keep from committing suicide; to release or express anger that we're afraid to express to others; to silently cry out for help; to show ourselves how bad the pain is that we feel inside; or for a number of other reasons. But ultimately, hurting ourselves does just that—it hurts us....


Need more information on self-harm? You might want to check out Healing the Hurt Within by Jan Sutton. It's an informative, sensitive book on self-harm, and the author is clearly aware of the issues of survivors and self-harm.



Treat Yourself Like a Friend
We often treat our friends better than we treat ourselves. We greet them with happiness and affection. We listen to them with compassion and understanding, and we don't try to silence them when they need to grumble or complain. And we are unequivocally, unalterably on their side. How much of this do we do for ourselves?...



What To Do When You're Feeling Down

Depression can be debilitating, and painful to endure. Once depressed, it is easy to keep spiraling further down. But there are many things that can help when you're feeling down, even if only a little—and a little may be all you need to shift into a better place.