How Can I Practice Self-Love And Compassion?

Self-love can be cultivated through a variety of self-care practices that affect your physical, emotional, and mental health. Oftentimes it can be easy to feel love and compassion for others but hard to feel love and compassion for yourself, despite self-love being important for your mental health. When you feel self-love, it may help you establish boundaries, which may ultimately strengthen your relationship with yourself and others. Keep reading to learn ways to practice self-love and improve your relationships and well-being. 

What is the concept of self-love?

How is compassion related to self-love?

When you have compassion for yourself, you can typically hold yourself accountable yet also be kind to yourself, realizing that you are only human. It’s similar to the compassion you’d show to a good friend or loved one who has made a mistake. Compassion allows acceptance of your imperfections so that you can better practice self-love. 

What are ways to practice self-love?

One way to practice self-love and compassion is by engaging in self-care. There are many aspects of life in which you can care for yourself and cultivate self-love, including in your physical, mental, emotional, and relational health. 

Physical self-care

Engaging in self-care in the course of daily life can be an important part of practicing self-love. You might care for your body by:

• Getting regular exercise 
• Taking time to rest
• Getting adequate sleep
• Eating nutritious foods

Mental self-care 

Caring for your mental health can also be an important part of self-care. It may help to establish a daily time to practice self-love, self-compassion, and self-acceptance, possibly through some type of meditation. 

Relational self-care

Another way to practice self-love is in relationships with others. You might reassess how you feel in your friendships and romantic relationships. Your relationships should ideally make you feel good and be founded on reciprocal give-and-take. It may help to spend more time with people who support you and help you to be your best self, since people who treat you well can help you to embrace self-acceptance. Continuing relationships with people who don’t treat you well can be an act of self-sabotage, so it may help to put up boundaries with certain people.

Emotional self-care and feeling compassion toward yourself

Allowing yourself to feel the full range of your emotions can also be an act of self-care. Taking time for self-reflection can help you care for your emotional well-being. This can include activities like:

• Practicing meditation and mindfulness
• Journaling
• Creating art
• Listening to music

Emotional self-care can also mean practicing self-forgiveness for past mistakes, which may help improve your current relationships. 

How does feeling self-love promote healthy relationships?

If you experience self-love, you may be more likely to enter into relationships in which people respect and love you back in the way that you deserve.

Healthy boundaries and self-care

With self-love, you may know what you want and deserve in a relationship. Self-love may help you set boundaries with others regarding how you want to be treated. Ultimately, this has the potential for you to engage in healthier relationships. 

How does self-love impact mental health and emotional resilience?

When you feel self-love, you may be more likely to have positive self-talk and make healthy, positive choices in your life, which can significantly impact your mental health. Self-love can also help you build emotional resilience because you have an inner sense of your essential worth and capacities to face obstacles.

What is a way to combat negative thoughts?

To combat negative thoughts, one of the first steps is to recognize when such thoughts arise. In the moment that a negative thought arises, it may help to acknowledge that it’s just a thought and not the truth. Then, you can replace the negative thought with one that’s more affirming. Over time, this practice may help rewire your brain.

Is it helpful to attend therapy for self-love?

If you’re experiencing challenges with self-love, therapy may be an important part of healing. A lack of self-love may affect your relationships, and a couples counselor may be able to help you build self-love and improve your relationship. 

Individual therapy to challenge negative thoughts and practice self-love and compassion

In addition to couples therapy, individual therapy can make a significant difference in cultivating self-love. Someone who struggles with self-love may experience a lot of self-doubt. A therapist can help you pay attention to your inner dialogue and recognize negative thought patterns. Therapy can help you challenge negative self-talk that you get from your inner critic, reprogramming the way that you think about yourself and the world so that you can experience real self-love. Ultimately, this can greatly improve your mental health and overall well-being.

Online therapy to improve mental health 

Some people who experience a lack of self-love may feel hesitant to speak with a therapist in person. In these cases, online therapy can serve as a way to receive compassionate care. An online couples counselor can help people explore self-love and any relationship challenges at a time that suits their schedule. Sessions can take place via audio or video, or a combination of these methods. In addition to offering flexible communication methods, online therapy has robust support in the psychological literature. One study found that online therapy led to increases in both mental health and relationship satisfaction.