A lot of content out there talks about how you can build better relationships with friends and family. While this is important, it ignores the most important relationship there is the relationship you have with yourself! Natalie Lue, author of “Nurturing your relationship with you” for In The Moment magazine says that, “Noticing how your actions, decisions, and choices reflect your expectations is the first step to understanding if you’re being too tough on yourself.” Giving yourself a break when you need it is an important thing to do if you’re trying to nurture your relationship with yourself. Everyone in recovery has to work on the relationship they have with themselves, so continue reading to learn more about how you can do just that.
Being Hard on Yourself
At the beginning of her article, Lue looks back to a time when she was feeling very low. She says she was doing all the right things — “spending lots of time outdoors, resting, stretching, meditating, journaling, and talking about what was on [her] mind — but that didn’t stop her low feelings. Although she was doing all of these things, her self-kindness was lacking. A doctor mentioned to her that she was very hard on herself, as she was pushing and pushing herself more and more. “You’re so used to pushing yourself that you don’t realize you’re expecting too much,” says her doctor. These are the words we all need to hear during some point in our recovery. The wounds that have taken months or years to develop won’t take days or weeks to heal. Recovery takes time.
Should I Just Try Hard?
No. Give yourself the break you need to rest and rejuvenate. If you are dealing with a few major stressors and you are trying to keep up your other tasks, your mental health will start to wane. It’s important to back off and take time for yourself, instead of trying harder to be perfect. Lue says we should ask ourselves the following question: “Am I being fair and reasonable in expecting this of myself or expecting me to do this without impacting my emotional, mental and physical well-being?” If you aren’t being fair or reasonable, it’s time to give yourself the break you need. Nurturing your relationship with yourself means taking a break when you know you need one. It means being in tune with how you are feeling so you know when you need that break. It means being kind to yourself.
Today, take a look at the wonderful things you’ve accomplished instead of focusing on what has yet to be completed. Arbor Behavioral Healthcare can help you on your recovery journey. Call us today at 844-413-2690. We can’t wait to hear from you!