We live in an age where mental health is being pushed to the forefront of our recognition. People understand now that taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body. A huge number of mental health problems, including anxiety and depression, can be helped with a bit of self care. While most of us understand the importance of looking after our mental wellbeing, not all of us know how to do that.
Ask any expert and they will tell you that the key to good mental health is to love yourself. In other words, you need to be your own best friend. As soon as you start treating yourself with the love and respect you want others to show you, everything else will fall into place organically.
So, how do you make yourself be your own best friend?
Don’t Beat Yourself Up
We all make mistakes and we all do stupid things – it is part of being human. You can’t stop yourself from messing up from time to time but you can learn to be less hard on yourself. Next time you make a mistake, don’t torture yourself for weeks afterwards wishing you had done something different. Forgive yourself and learn from the experience. Next time you won’t do the same thing and that is all you need to understand to transform the whole affair into something positive.
Understand Your Worth
It is so easy for us to hone in on all of our imperfections. We are constantly criticising every aspect of our life and this toxic mindset will only ever make you feel miserable. Instead, force yourself to focus on all the good things about you. Think about the friends you have, the things you have achieved, and the kind acts you have done. Everyone has good attributes and these, not your flaws, deserve your energy.
Forget the Word ‘Should’
One thing that makes us all miserable is the word ‘should’. At 20 you should be doing this and at 30 you should be doing that. Forget about all of that! What kind of friend puts that sort of pressure on someone? Don’t do it to yourself. Instead of thinking, “I should feel a certain way” or “I should be doing a certain thing”, think to yourself “this is what I am doing and feeling and that’s ok”. As soon as you accept that what you are doing and feeling is absolutely fine you are one step closer to being the best friend you’ve ever had.
Be Compassionate to Yourself
If your best friend was going through a break-up and spent weeks or even months in a state of heart break would you tell them to grow up and stop being pathetic? Of course not. So, why do you do it to yourself? If you would give your friend all the love and support they need to get them back on track then you should do the same to yourself. Being your own best friend means doing everything you would do for your external best friend.
Look After Yourself
This is the most important thing you can do to be your own best friend. Take yourself on adventures, work out, eat that extra cookie if you really want to. Being your own best friend means having fun and looking after yourself. If you need some self care then indulge yourself. Buy yourself a tub of ice cream and watch Netflix all evening. If you want a promotion, do everything you can to support yourself to get it.
