Topic Tuesday: Self-Love

“Beautiful Within” (By: Kelsey Albright)

There was once a time where I couldn’t stand to look at myself in the mirror. I hated the person that was looking back at me. I felt self-conscious every time I noticed someone looking at me because I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin. Since I didn’t believe them to be true or valid, I couldn’t even accept complements from others. Life wasn’t a life at all; it was torture day in and day out.

Most people with eating disorders or body image issues see a distorted view of themselves, a view that others don’t see. The person I was looking at in the mirror, wasn’t the same person that everyone else saw. These issues typically stem from some type of depression that leads to a lack of self-love and respect. Only when we learn to love and respect ourselves, will we be able to heal ourselves. We must choose to stop neglecting ourselves and start seeing ourselves as the beautiful individuals that we are.

I won’t lie and tell you that the healing process was easy for me, but I can say that it was the best decision I’ve ever made. Learning to love yourself is like learning a new language, as self-love is foreign to you. Healing is a process that takes time, dedication and true determination. It’s something you will work on every single day, however, the days start getting easier and easier as you go.

Believe it or not, we have the power to control most of our thoughts and our perspective of things. Slowly changing my perspective was how I began my journey towards recovering and healing myself. The first thing I realized was that I had to stop comparing myself to others because I am my own individual. Also, every day I would force myself to look in the mirror and point out the positive things that I saw. I would smile at myself and tell myself that I’m beautiful over and over until I truly started believing it.

Once I started actually seeing the positive things about myself, I realized that everything about me is what makes me special. Nobody else is you, which is what makes you unique and perfect in your own ways. Learn to accept yourself for who you are because you only have this one short life to be happy and to love yourself. After all, what do you have to lose from simply loving yourself? Nothing, but there is so much that you could gain.

I believe it is also extremely important to understand that beauty isn’t something that lies on the surface. Beauty comes straight from the mind, heart and soul. It is how you treat yourself and others. It is the way you share love and kindness with the world. Beauty is accepting yourself for the amazing person that you are and allowing yourself to just be you. Now is your chance to stop underestimating yourself and make a change.

About the Author

Kelsey has battled mental health issues since she was a child. After recovering from anorexia with the help of a wonderful life coach, she decided that she wanted to help others with these types of issues. She has a passion for healing through life coaching and energy work. Her hobbies include playing with her kids, being one with nature, writing and helping others.