Many of us living with addictions and mental health issues struggle with self-love. We feel a deep sense of self-hatred, self-doubt and insecurity. We often feel incomplete, inadequate, unworthy and down on ourselves. We feel ashamed of ourselves for our mistakes and wrongdoings. We struggle to feel confident, secure within ourselves and at peace. Learning how to love ourselves unconditionally is of critical importance to the healing process. We need to love ourselves in order to overcome our addictions, depression, anxiety and other mental health challenges.
At the root of our self-loathing lies our fear. We have spent years of our lives believing that our deepest fears are true. We believe the fears telling us that we are inadequate, that we are unlovable, that we can’t heal. Loving ourselves means working to create and believe new truths. To do this, first we have to explore our fears and investigate them. Where did our fears come from? Did we learn them from the people around us growing up? Did we absorb them from the societies and cultures we live in? What are our fears trying to tell us? If we can begin to look at our fears more closely, we can receive guidance on how to heal them. Our fears of inadequacy are telling us we need to work to improve our feelings of self-worth. Our fears that we can’t heal are telling us to work on believing in ourselves more.
As we explore our fears, it is important to be patient and compassionate with ourselves. Our self-hatred developed over many years and will take time to heal. Remind yourself that you deserve your own kindness, especially when you are suffering. When we beat ourselves up for feeling our emotions, we move even further away from our goal of self-love.
Recognizing our fears and becoming conscious of them allows us to then work to heal them. Because our subconscious minds store our emotional information, we can use the power of our subconscious to heal ourselves deeply. Start reprogramming your subconscious mind to love yourself by repeating affirmations such as “I love myself. I believe in myself. I am strong. I am powerful.” Use statements that resonate with you and repeat them often. As you repeat them, give them your energy and focus. Feel them as though they are true. You can also write them down and read them. You can try recording them to listen to during meditation. With time and repetition, they will gradually help you to believe in yourself and love yourself.
The community at Vista Taos is here to help you along your healing journey. Call (575) 586-5078 for more information.
