self love Archives - Enlightened Solutions

Growing in Self-Love

Written by enlightened solutions on October 10, 2018. Posted in 12 Step Program, Addiction. Leave a Comment

Those of us struggling with addictions and mental health issues often have in common a belief that we are inadequate, shameful and unworthy. Oftentimes we are filled with self-hatred that compounds, perpetuates and exacerbates our difficulties. We hear about self-love and maybe we know we ought to love ourselves, but how do we go about finding self-love?

We are not just our addictions, our drugs of choice, our behaviors and thoughts. We are not just our mistakes and wrongdoings. Underneath all of that, and including all that, we are beautiful manifestations of our higher power in human form. Before and after we became addicts and/or mentally ill, we were unique, special, strong and powerful. We have unique gifts and talents to share with the world, whether or not we are conscious yet of what they are. One way to grow in self-love is to focus our energy on finding that beautiful soul within us. Our souls are the essence of who we are. Our fears and pain don’t destroy our souls, in fact they can be a source of strength and empowerment if we allow them to be.

How can we strengthen and empower ourselves? With self-love. Every day, as often as possible, tell yourself things like “I love you. I believe in you. You are strong. You are resilient. You are healing.” Look in the mirror and repeat these words. This can be hard to do. When we hate ourselves, sometimes we can’t stand to even look at our own reflection. Give these exercises as much of your energy as you can. Try to infuse your energy with hope, faith and optimism. Start to work to shed the limiting beliefs you have about yourself. Use positive, self-loving affirmations to reprogram your subconscious mind.

See your addictions and mental health issues as one part of yourself, not the entirety of your identity. Love yourself for all of it, the good, the bad, and everything in between. Love yourself for not giving up. Love yourself for still trying. Love yourself for seeking help. Love yourself for getting out of bed today. Love and forgive yourself for your shortcomings, mistakes and wrongs. All of it makes up the wholeness of who you are, and you deserve love because of it, not despite it. You survived to tell the stories, and every day is a chance to learn, do better and move forward.

See yourself the way your higher power sees you, a flawed human being who is perfectly imperfect but perfect nonetheless. Finding ways to love ourselves unconditionally, and to love all the parts of ourselves, is crucial to our healing and recovery.

We’re here to help you along your healing journey. Call Enlightened Solutions at (833) 801-LIVE.

Self-Love is the Solution

Written by enlightened solutions on November 8, 2017. Posted in Addiction, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

Self-love is the solution true happiness. There are many ways one can express themselves through self-love. Self-love is expressed in a variety of ways that each have their own special impact on how life can be interpreted. The act of being mindful of one’s surroundings places an appreciation for what is really going on around with the body and soul. Addicts struggle with this while in the disease and that’s a realization discovered once all substances exit the body. Listening to the body is will encourage the addict to take proper care of its vital needs. This includes nourishing the body with essential nutrients. Getting enough exercise keeps the body moving throughout the years. Stimulating the mind by activities such reading will keep it functioning like a well-oiled machine.

The concept of self-love is both selfish and selfless. Genuinely caring about other’s needs and having compassion, is regarded to be a factor of staying sane. It is not ideal to be selfish in a way that is narcissistic. For example, being of service will actually help with self-esteem. On the inside, an average person’s heart will feel full. While in the disease of addiction, the addict has let his/her mind take over control. The mind’s powerful voice disregards others, for its own selfish needs. This turns out to be miserable because the addict’s mind can never reach satisfaction. In our world today having compassion for others serves the addict in a ways that keeps sobriety intact. Therefore, learning about how to help out the surrounding community is an act of self-love in itself.

Projecting negative thoughts onto oneself is never a good idea. Addicts in the disease have the tendency to have depressing thoughts while lacking hope for the future. After the addict has safely quit drinking or using, there must be some kind of change in thought pattern. Degrading or putting oneself down, can lead to a sad, lonely life. God did not put us on earth to fail. Addicts should take sobriety and run with it in all directions. The addict should begin to say nice words about themselves such as affirmations or prayers. Manifesting wonderful futures as well as praying for the good of others is self-love that most find it hard to see while in and out of the disease. It’s okay to start small with a gratitude list, some volunteer work, or starting to rid the body of all toxins. Self-love is crucial to living life to the fullest, All recovering addicts must embrace this sooner than later. Share the love!

Enlightened Solutions encourages patients to practice self-love in all areas of life. Our wellness and nutrition groups enhance patient’s life skills in always staying in the solution. Call 833-801-5483 today for information on our partial care programs in New Jersey.

5 Reasons You Should Learn to Love Your Body

Written by enlightened solutions on October 10, 2017. Posted in Healthy Living, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

The journey of returning to wholeness from the perspective of mind, body and spirit can be the adventure of a lifetime. It makes sense that such an adventure would have both glorious celebrations and significant challenges. The prospect of truly being embodied, fully occupying the body that is yours, and yours alone, can be a daunting call to action if you are healing from body image issues. In moments of doubt, return to the possibility of what potential your body offers your life.

It is the only body you have

At the core, the primary reason to love your body is that is is the only one that you have. While it has mystical capacity to heal itself, it is also finite in its support of your ability to stay on the epic quest of life.

It is your ancestral lineage

Your body descended from a lineage of people, each who found the other and formed a tribe, and created new life. Your body carries DNA of all of those who came before you and you carry forward the purpose they found in creating the lineage that they did.

It is your eco-system

Through this body, you are part of the larger eco-system. You have some tribe, chosen or family, and the way that you are part of this interconnection is primarily through your body. The spirit and the emotion stem from the body as foundation and without it, they lose the channel for distribution.

It is your pathway to unconditional love with all beings

By being fully embodied in your present self and discovering unconditional love of your physical home, you learn the ways of unconditional love. As you learn to be in this relationship with your body, you can extend this love to your inner self, emotional and spiritual. This leads to the mastery necessary to love others unconditionally.

It is the vehicle for your purpose

Every life exists for a reason, to offer a unique gift to the collective human experience. You are no different. Your body makes this possible for your spirit. Care for it and honor it as your precious vehicle for your precious life.

If you are struggling with addiction, alcoholism, and/or mental health, know that there is hope. There is a solution. Harmoniously fusing together the best elements of clinical care, holistic healing, and 12-step philosophy, Enlightened Solutions has created a program of total transformation for men and women seeking recovery. Call 833-801-5483 today for information on our partial care programs in New Jersey.

Changing Your Approach To Body Image

Written by enlightened solutions on March 26, 2017. Posted in Addiction, Healthy Living, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

Body image is important for recovery. Anyone can struggle with poor body image. Having a low sense of self and self-perception can damage the way you have relationships and engage in intimacy throughout your life. Here are a few suggestions for changing your approach to your body image.

Make Sure Your Beliefs Are Consistent

You think you might see some kind of flaw in the mirror. Oh no, you think to yourself, I cannot have this! This makes me unattractive. Yet, you see it in a friend and think they’re so beautiful it doesn’t matter. Or, even more problematically you might think they aren’t very beautiful anyway, so it doesn’t matter. Your beliefs about yourself and about others have to be consistent. Most importantly, they consistently need to look something like this:

Everyone is beautiful.
All bodies are beautiful.
It’s okay to be okay with yourself and how you look
Take A Healthy Look At Your Eating Behaviors

Paying attention to eating behaviors might sound like the opposite thing you need to do to shift body image from negative to positive. Food shouldn’t be assigned labels or emotions. There shouldn’t be “bad” foods and “good” foods which you either feel okay about or completely guilty about. Identifying the way you label and judge your food, as well as yourself when you eat, is important. What you eat directly influences how you feel. You either have to change the food you’re eating in a healthy and balanced way or change the way you feel about the food you’re eating.

Embrace the “All Food” and “All Exercise” Philosophy

What if there was a world where you didn’t have to do a certain workout for a certain number of time followed by a certain protein shake with certain ingredients? Imagine a life where you just ate, in a healthy and balanced way, and got at least 20 minutes of exercise, in a healthy and balanced way. That world is possible and you can create it. Obsessing over doing everything right in regards to diet and exercise can drive you crazy, cause you to be sick, and thwart your positive body image. Let the reins loose a little bit and enjoy the way you live your life, not punish yourself for it.

Give Yourself The Same Love You Give Others

When you compliment and admire someone for the way they look, turn those sentiments back toward yourself. Positive affirmations are a powerful tool for helping you build a more positive self-image and higher sense of self-esteem.

Enlightened Solutions offers holistic partial care programs designed to treat issues of body image and eating disorders in addition to any dual diagnosis issues with substance abuse. We have a solution. It starts with you. Start by calling us today for more information at 833-801-5483.

Tag: self love

Growing in Self-Love

Self-Love is the Solution

5 Reasons You Should Learn to Love Your Body

It is the only body you have

It is your ancestral lineage

It is your eco-system

It is your pathway to unconditional love with all beings

It is the vehicle for your purpose

Changing Your Approach To Body Image

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