In today’s society, many woman and girls are influenced by the images they see on television that give a false sense of what a woman should look like and how a woman should act. These images show mainly women who are very thin and have had some type of cosmetic surgery to enhance their appearance. They also show a women who is not fully clothed showing off her body in order to get what she wants. This sends the wrong message and for young girls and some adults, this can leave them feeling a sense of inadequacy. Unfortunately, many teens watch the television shows and think that they are supposed to look like the women portrayed on the shows. The teen do not realized that the women are made up with numerous tricks of the trade put into place to give a false sense of reality. This leads the teen down a road that leads to low self esteem and the teenager grows into adulthood feeling inadequate and less than.

According to lzbearfacts.com low self-esteem is a mental disorder in which an individual views himself or herself as inadequate, unworthy, unloved, and/or incompetent. Once formed, this negative self image permeates every thought, producing faulty assumption and ongoing self-defeating behavior. Low self-esteem issues are common in young people, especially in high school. Seven out of ten girls believe that they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members, according to dosomething.org.

Low self-esteem is the underlying cause of much of the depression people suffer. They feel that there are things they can’t do well, especially as it concerns social skills, being successful, initiating and maintaining relationships, or having the courage to try new things. As a result they often feel hopeless about their situation and about the future. Because those with low self-esteem feel so inadequate, they automatically think that others see them in the same way and that others are laughing at them, will likely reject them, do not respect them, and will take advantage of them. Consequently they tend to watch for signs this is happening and then tend to by overly sensitive and are easily offended. Feeling inadequate, as thought they don’t fit in, and then constantly fearful of repercussions, low self esteem sufferers watch others in an effort to figure out what to do and say, what to wear-what seems to work. But, as situations change, behaviors also change leaving these individuals confused about what they should do or say, adding to their anxiety and fear of rejection and so their social and relationship skills do not improve leading to many boundary issues.

Practicing Self Love:

What is self love anyway?
self-love
noun
noun: self-love
1. Regard for one’s own well-being and happiness (chiefly considered as a desirable rather than narcissistic characteristic).

2. Self love has often been seen as a moral flaw, akin to vanity and selfishness.[1] In 1956, however, psychologist and social philosopher Erich Fromm proposed that loving oneself is different from being arrogant, conceited, or egocentric, meaning instead caring about oneself and taking responsibility for oneself.

Practicing self-love is really easy and it is very important that you do it because self-love is important to living well. It influences your life choices; who you pick for a mate, the image you project at work, and how you cope with the problems in your life. I want to share a few steps with you to get you on track to start practicing self-love

Steps for Starting the Self-Love Process:

Before you begin your process for practicing self-love, there is one exercise I recommend
you do in order to be in the correct mindset for practicing self-love:
• Stand in front of a mirror
• Look at yourself. I mean really look at yourself.
• Observe your face. Then move to your shoulders and chest. Then move to your abdomen. Complete this until you get to your feet.
What were the negative things you thought about yourself while you were examining your body?
What were the positive things you thought about yourself while you were examining your body?
Now, let’s change those negatives to positives. Review your negatives again and rewrite them by turning them into a positive statement.

When you practice thinking only positive things about yourself, you will notice how much more
confident you feel. When you feel good about yourself and who you are, nobody can tarnish that feeling, if you don’t allow it. Do yourself a huge favor and stop being hard on yourself. Look at yourself in the mirror everyday and love what you see.

Share your results with us!

In the next blog, I will provide you with daily affirmations to practice each day. Stay tuned….