Being kind to yourself is the age old battle for people with mental health problems because you don’t feel like you deserve kindness. You find it easier to say hurtful things to yourself, than you do to say something nice.
You often think it’s easier to be kind to others than to yourself, but I am here to tell whoever needs to hear it, that you do deserve kindness too, But it has to start with you unlearning some negative habits.
Do you find yourself saying things like: “I’m not good enough”, “I’m not good-looking enough”, “I’m not skinny enough”, and “I’m not clever enough”? Well the key word in all of those phrases is ENOUGH. Enough telling yourself fake truths. Because you are and you can be, but you have to believe it.
But obviously it’s not that easy because if it was then we would have stopped it by now – right?
So firstly try and catch your inner voice telling yourself that you aren’t enough, and then tell it to stop and say: “I am enough”. It will feel weird, but it will get easier and you will find yourself doing it less.
I also find that starting the day by saying a positive morning mantra can start your day off in the right way. I often post a morning mantra on my twitter every morning, so try and say them to yourself or you could think of one of your own.
I think a good way to practise being kind to yourself is to find at least 10 minutes to yourself each day and do something that you enjoy doing. Or you could just have 10 minutes of quiet time to either meditate or be with yourself. I have recently started painting and I find it so relaxing and a really mindful experience because I’m not thinking about anything else.
Next I think you should give yourself some recognition for your achievements, they don’t have to be big things, but just acknowledge your struggle and how you are working through it. You could write a list of the things you are proud of achieving in your life.
Additionally looking forward to the future, you should believe in yourself. This is an act of kindness because believing in yourself will help reach your future goals. But if you don’t believe you will achieve it, then you may not try as hard.
Another way you can show kindness to yourself is by treating yourself. Buy yourself a gift or make yourself something.
Finally I think the last thing that you need to do is to forgive yourself for things you have done in the past. You can’t change it and the only person you are hurting is yourself. You are only human and humans make mistakes.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK POSTS:
Why I chose to complete my degree ‘Catching Kindness’
Random acts of kindness ideas during lockdown on Mental Health Awareness Week
What does kindness mean to you? Watch this beautiful video on Mental Health Awareness Week
Wellbean blog 
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