Do you know how to treat yourself well?

Society talks a lot about the importance of self esteem but very little about how to gain it. 

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Self belief, self esteem, self love - they sound so alien because we're never been taught to take care of ourselves. We are taught that we must respect our elders, listen to instructions, look after our family, but where in those lessons is the most crucial one? the one that allows us to develop a compassionate respect for ourselves?

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It's so easy when we're upset to tell ourselves we shouldn't be feeling that way - 'I shouldn't be crying', 'this shouldn't bother me', 'I'm just being silly / over-sensitive' etc. but when we talk to ourselves that way (a way we would never talk to our friends or family) we are dismissing ourselves. How different could we feel if our automatic response was to be kind? e.g. 'I feel wobbly today so I will take it easy', 'I am feeling stressed so it's natural my emotions will be on edge' etc - If we accept everything we think and feel as ok then we can accept that we ourselves are ok. 

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Counselling can help you to change your negative ways of thinking about yourself by first providing a space in which you are the centre of attention, and then by helping you to see how negative you are towards yourself (often without you even being aware of it). Awareness is the first step on the road to change, but once that first step is taken, the rest can quickly fall into place.

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If you'd like to discuss improving your self esteem through counselling, then please get in touch and I'd be happy to help.