How to Show Yourself More Love
You’ve probably already heard that if you want to heal your emotional eating and have a healthy relationship with food and your body, you need to show yourself some love. But loving yourself is easier said than done. Where do you start? If you struggle with emotional eating or even body image, here are 4 ways that you can start showing yourself more love.
1. Ask for What You Need
Whether you’re feeling alone, unsupported or just simply overwhelmed, realize it’s okay to ask for help. If you need to carve out some alone time during your hectic week, pull back on some commitments or even take a mental health day from work, do what’s best for you. There is no shame is asking for help and setting boundaries for your own well-being. When you ask for what you need, you are showing your self some much needed love and respect.
2. Forgive Yourself
This is a big one. Often at the root of eating challenges is a desire to be better than you are. Maybe you want to weigh less or have a different body shape, be more attractive, more successful and be as flawless as possible! The truth is, you’re human. You’re going to have flaws and you’re going to make mistakes. By accepting this and forgiving yourself for all the imperfections, you are giving yourself permission to be you and let go of the impossible standard you are trying to achieve. Forgive yourself for any mistake you make and move on – this is how you show yourself love.
3. Prioritize the Things that are Important to You
Take a few minutes to think of all the things that are important to you and write them down. Your list may include family, friends, work, health, hobbies, spirituality, charity work and more. Now take a moment to evaluate if you are prioritizing what is important to you. Perhaps your friends are important to you, but you’ve been so busy with other things that you haven’t made time to call or get-together with your friends. Maybe you love to do arts and crafts but you haven’t made the time because of other commitments. When things get out of balance in our lives, we get more stressed and that can trigger emotional eating. By prioritizing all the things that are important to you, it is easier to achieve balance. When you make time for the things that are important to you, you’re showing yourself love and will feel happier and more fulfilled.
4. Practice Self-Care
Along with prioritizing the things that are important to you is practicing self-care on a regular basis. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious or depressed, it’s easy to neglect your own basic needs. Self-care plays a significant role in maintaining physical and emotional health. Self-care can be as simple as practicing proper hygiene to eating regularly, having a good sleep routine, to practicing meditation, mindfulness and relaxation techniques.