How do you treat yourself?

I know that this is something that I have talked about before, so bear with me as I prepare my soapbox…


I hope you are settled comfortably; this could take some time!


You do not have the right to treat yourself like shit…


Are you hearing me? You. Do. Not. Have. The. Right. To. Treat. Yourself. Like. Shit!


I spend so much of my time with other people. Whether I am networking, teaching, working at my clinic or just generally chatting (I like to talk) I am often taken aback at how people talk about themselves. They might be apologising for something completely trivial, saying sorry over every little thing.  Making themselves appear smaller than they are, like they don’t have the right to take up space. Criticizing the great work, they have done (especially my students/clients) or passing credit over to another person.


What is going on? Why do we feel this almost subconscious need to deflect positive comments or immediately re-assign the compliment or positive remark to someone else (I couldn’t have done it without…)?


Maybe that is something you have considered before? Have you ever questioned why you feel so awkward or uncomfortable when someone says something nice to you?


Anyway, I am slightly off track but here is what I came here to say… Your body is your best friend.


It’s a bit of a strange idea, I will do my best to walk you through it.


From the second you are born; your body is working for you. It is growing and developing, forming and learning new skills every single day. Every breath you take, your lungs are filtering whatever is in the air around you. Your skin is protecting you from the elements and sending thousands of signals to your brain, letting it know about your environment.


No matter what food you give it, if it is healthy and nutritious or you live off chicken nuggets, it will always take every bit of nutrition out of it for you. Everything we put into and on our body is being used, filtered or processed to its full effect.


Our body is the most amazing piece of kit that we don’t always fully understand or appreciate.

Take a few minutes to just appreciate how you amazing you really are.


How would you feel if I asked you to tell yourself how much you love yourself? A bit silly?


No matter what you do to yourself, your body will always do its best for you. Regardless of how much or how little you eat or drink, if you put toxins such as alcohol, drugs and nicotine into it, it will work hard to correct or repair the damage you do.

Sleep too much? Hardly ever sleep? It doesn’t matter, your body will work hard to keep you going.


From your first breath to your final one, it is always doing everything it can to keep you going. When you are ill, it steps up a gear, fighting off pathogens and infection. If you damage it, it will heal and even grow new bone!


Even when you know you are dying, your body is ravaged by cancer or chemo and you are destroying your immune system, the very thing that fights for and repairs your body, your body is doing all it can to keep you alive.


Instead of showing it care and kindness, what do we do? We pull and prod at it. We complain that it doesn’t look how we think it should (is it really a surprise if we aren’t feeding it better or moving more?) It has aches and pains and makes funny sounds and we are embarrassed or annoyed by it. We are frustrated because our hair isn’t just like the pictures we see in magazines or we pinch at the rolls and say horrible things to ourselves.


What words form your internal chatter?


Fat?

Ugly?

Useless?

Disgusting?

Stupid?

Unloved?

Unwanted?


Would you accept them from other people?


Every second of every day, your body is fighting for you.


Always...

You do not have the right to treat yourself like shit...