Being Kind to Yourself
You may have grown up hearing very negative messages. You may have been told not to try, you won’t be successful. You may have believed these messages. You may have been physically and verbally abused and believed that you deserved that treatment. It is possible that no one ever said to you: ‘good job, I am proud of you’. You may have lived your whole life expecting the worst at all times.
If any of this is true for you, it is probably hard for you to believe that your life can be better than it is right now. But everyone deserves to be happy, everyone deserves to be proud of themselves, everyone deserves to be safe and everyone deserves to be loved. And everyone includes you.
It takes work to change the messages in your head but it is possible. You can stop caring what others think of you and start caring what you think of you. You can feel heard, validated, cared for. If you are hurting it matters. Talking to someone who truly listens can make a huge difference for you.
Many people use the new year as a time to make changes, they may make lists that they give up before the end of the week. These lists, or resolutions, frequently involve major behavior changes, like dieting or starting an exercise program. The resolutions don’t last because they feel more like punishment or deprivation than like anything positive. But you can resolve to be kind to yourself. It can be difficult to learn at first, but a counselor can get you started.
I would love to meet you and work with you on being kind to yourself.
Robin Phillips LISW-S
Collinwoodcounseling.com
Robin Phillips
Clinical Social Worker with a Private Practice on East 185th St., Collinwood Counseling