While we could be loving someone and something without second thoughts, have we ever asked ourselves – do I love myself enough? Self-love is important for mental health and well-being and while there are many definitions to it, the basis is the same. Accepting who you are, being comfortable in your skin, and engaging in activities that make you happy & content.

But if you are someone (or know someone) who is healing from the past and looking to re-teach self-love, this blog is sure to help. Before we start, remember that you and your experiences are different & must be honored at all times. Take your time always and regardless of how tough things may get, always choose to love yourself.

5 Ways You Can Re-teach Yourself Self-love

1. Accepting the pain for what it is: The more we run away from something, the more it follows us. This can be bothersome, especially if you are healing from a bitter experience. Once you have made peace with how things are right now, you clear up more space in your head to look at other aspects that are associated with the suffering. Is the pain causing anger issues, does it trigger episodes of anxiety or does it make it hard to get out of bed. Acknowledging helps in recognizing false beliefs, how you react to triggers, and the chain of thoughts in the moment and enables you to handle the situation better
2. Take responsibility: Self-love grooms your mind to think positive and have more mental space to process everyday without getting overwhelmed. While you couldn’t control the events that hurt you in the past, now is the time to do it. Take responsibility for how you feel. The past will live in the past until and unless you allow it the pilot seat to navigate events in your life
3. Enroll in activities that you enjoy: Loving yourself includes doing things that make you happy and help let go of negativity. If you enjoy the mere thought of dancing or swimming, consider enrolling in classes. Not only will it keep your mind engaged, these classes will integrate into your routine. Take at least 20 minutes everyday to pamper yourself. The key here to take it slow and easy instead of stressing over it
4. You deserve to be loved. Period: Re-teaching yourself how to love yourself again is difficult and road less travelled. While there could be a thousand things stopping you, the mere realization that you are worthy of being adored and loved by yourself is going to help you incredibly. Know that whatever caused you to appreciate yourself less is no longer in control of your present & you are reworking on a clean slate
5. Seek professional help: There’s nothing wrong in seeking help when you are not sure where to begin your journey from. There could be just so many things you can possibly do, you may feel overwhelmed & lost. A professional can very well guide you here. They will not only help identify pieces that need to be re-loved but also address recurring concerns that could be silently hindering your progress

The reality of re-loving yourself can be difficult on the mind and may at times seem unreal. You might be so comfortable with the consistency of feeling incompetent & not enough that re-learning your worth & enjoying life may seem exhausting. Many drop out at this discomfort and choose to go back to how things were. If you are learning how to self-love again, know that you deserve it and there’s help to make it happen. Nothing should stop anyone from embracing who they are.