Self-Love in The Time of Covid-19

As many of us are being told to be in our apartments and houses, and limit trips outside and social contact, things are feeling pretty “real” at this point. Lots of organizations have put forth guidelines to help combat the stress of the Covid-19 pandemic, and with good reason: One of the main weapons we have to fight the virus is social distancing—a deeply unnatural practice for humans, but an essential one.

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So what can we learn about love in the time of Covid-19? The emphasis has always been on finding love through relationships, and of course, that still stands. We know how to love someone else and how to take care of their needs. But we are being given a unique opportunity to take a look at how we love ourselves. Many don’t love themselves enough, rather looking for proof of their lovability through someone else’s confirmation.

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How did we get to a place where love is largely defined by how others feel about us? What about what you feel about yourself? So, here’s a unique chance to think about yourself in relation to living in a time when we’re literally being asked to be diligent about taking care of our own personal well-being in order to ensure that we don’t get infected. We’re being asked to put ourselves in survival mode; we need to care enough about wanting to survive. When it’s said that we’re all in this together, that is what is meant—we all need to be loving enough to ourselves to want to survive.

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Here are some forms of self-love:

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1. List your positive attributes and reflect on them daily. This can be difficult for someone who habitually thinks negatively of themselves, but try to find one positive thing about yourself to add to the list once a week. At the end of each day, reflect on your entire list.
2. Celebrate and reward yourself. This is the fun part of self-love: rewarding yourself! If you have had a significant accomplishment, celebrate it with a nice dinner at your favorite fancy restaurant (takeaway or delivery of course!). Think of all of the hard work you do every day, and find a reason to reward yourself with something nice.
3. Do things that make you feel good. Think of feeling good physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Do what it takes to feel good in multiple ways; it may require exercise, meditation, dancing and keeping a positivity journal. Find a routine that feels good and stick to it.
4. Repeat positive affirmations daily. Find some positive thoughts that help you feel better, and repeat them daily. This may seem awkward or cheesy at first, but the habit will cause positive thoughts to sink in, and you will begin to believe them, even if you don’t at first.
5. Forgive Yourself For Your Mistakes. Reflecting on your mistakes can help you to forgive and forget. If you can look back at some poor choices you may have made, and forgive yourself, you can start to move on and forget about the past. Loving yourself despite any mistakes you made in the past is great for your self-worth.

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And if you can see yourself as a survivor in all of this, you have the opportunity to make decisions about what’s most important to you, and how you want to live in the future. Self-love means you come first, not in an ego-selfish way, but in a way that says you value your life more than anything else.

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See the beauty within. Lift your heads up and look around you. Be safe. Take care. Stay home.
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Kartiga
Admin Intern

#mentalhealth #selflove #selfcare #covid19