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Do You Love You?

02.11.2014 by Amy Johnson Maricle // 4 Comments

Woman Heart Face

Do You Love You?

By: Amy Maricle

I know it’s a bit of a strange question, but, do you? We have no problem saying we love our spouse, our children, our best friend, or even our favorite ice cream, but we would never say, “I love myself!” Why not?

 

It sounds weird, selfish, egotistical. Who says that? Well usually, no one. Not out loud anyway. I’m not suggesting that you take to the streets shouting your love and appreciation for yourself, but I would like you to consider how you treat the most important person in your life, the person who is responsible for your well-being every moment of every day – you.

Can You Count the Ways?

Think about the ways that you say I love you to others  – you empathize, you do favors, you give hugs, presents, and good advice. Chances are you can think of a lot of ways you show people you love them.

How do you show you love yourself? Is it harder to count the ways?

Loving yourself is hard. It’s much easier to focus on the negative – how you always say the wrong thing, are forgetful, messy, and have a dorky sense of humor. All this negative self-talk is not the way you would treat someone you loved. If you talked to your best friend the way you talk to yourself, she would have bailed on you a long time ago!

If you don’t take your emotions, needs, and wishes seriously, nobody else will either.

Just like any deep relationship, your relationship to yourself requires work. One way to start focusing more on yourself is to try the following exercise:

 

Make a List

Make a list of nice things you do for the people in your life. Perhaps your list might look something like this:

 

Be kind

Say nice things

Give a thoughtful gift

Help them out when they are in need

Give them a hug

Listen when they are upset

Encourage them when they doubt themselves

Give them the benefit of the doubt

Spend time with them

Give them a present on their birthday

Stand up for them

Make them laugh

Tell them to take a break

 

Can you pick one or two things from the list that you could do for yourself this week? What if you went out of your way to find something that makes you laugh? Or gave yourself a break when you made a mistake, or found a friend to talk to instead of ignoring your feelings when you are upset? Your friends and family deserve the best of you, and so do you!

 

 

Comments?

What do you do to love and take care of yourself? If you struggle to take care of yourself, why? Tell us about it in the comments.

 

If you like this post, you might also like this one, or this one here.

 

DISCLAIMER: This information is not a substitute for professional psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All content provided by Maricle Counseling and Amy Maricle, LMHC, ATR-BC is intended for general information purposes only. Never disregard professional medical or psychological advice or delay seeking treatment because of something you read here.

 

Image credit: hugofelix / 123RF Stock Photo

Categories // Wellness Tags // adult therapist, anxiety therapy, anxiety treatment, Art Therapist Foxboro, Art therapy, Coping skills, Overcoming negativity, Stress, Stress Management, Therapist Foxboro, Therapy in Foxboro

Stressed Out? What’s in Your Coping Toolbox?

09.24.2013 by Amy Johnson Maricle // 1 Comment

My Coping Toolbox
My Coping Toolbox

This is a guest post I did at Ariane de Bonvoisin’s First 30 Days Blog. You can read it here.

Categories // Wellness Tags // anxiety therapy, anxiety treatment, Art Therapist Foxboro, Coping skills, Foxboro therapist, Stress, Stress Management, Therapist Foxboro, therapy

Hi, I'm Amy! I'm here to empower your inner artist to use art for self-expression and de-stressin! Make art, feel better.

amy@mindfulartstudio.com

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DISCLAIMERS

Not Art Therapy: This information is not a substitute for professional psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All content provided by Amy Maricle is intended for general information purposes only. Never disregard professional medical or psychological advice or delay seeking treatment because of something you find here. The art information and tutorials found here may be relaxing or healing, as many art activities can be, but they are not art therapy.  Affiliate Links: Mindful Art Studio accepts some paid advertising banners and contextual affiliate links. An affiliate link means that I receive commission on sales of the products that are linked to in my posts if you click on them from my site. I promote products, books, and services I really trust and believe in. Any affiliate links are clearly marked.

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