By Jennifer McDougall
People often ask, “Why are you being so hard on yourself?” This usually happens when someone is not fully accepting of who they are. The judgment of oneself causes us to reject certain aspects of our being. Self-acceptable is often mistaken to be the same as self-esteem, but it is not. Instead, self-acceptance is simple. It means to like yourself and accept what you don’t. This doesn’t mean you claim yourself to be perfect. It just means you recognize who you are, and without rejecting that person, you respect, love, and care for them—just as you would for someone else whom you accept as they are.
As children, we learn to act or behave a certain way to be accepted by our parents. As adults, we do so to be accepted by our friends, spouses, and society. This is where we begin to steer wrong and get off track. It isn’t about being accepted by anyone else. If you do not have self-acceptance in your life, things tend to be more challenging for you in life. You take criticism, setbacks, and rejection personally. This then turns into self-doubt. We then question where we went wrong or what matters to us; why we are not good enough to be accepted by others.
“Wherever you go, you will find people lying to you, and as your awareness grows, you will notice that you also lie to yourself. Do not expect people to tell you the truth because they lie to themselves. You have to trust yourself and choose to believe or not what someone says to you.”
― Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
Many doctors believe negative emotions and thoughts about oneself cause disease and illness. At Passages Addiction Treatment Centers, we believe that the following reasons cause addiction:
- Chemical imbalance
- Unresolved events from the past
- Beliefs you hold that are inconsistent with what is true
- Inability to cope with current conditions
Now you may be asking yourself, “Okay. Well, how can I learn to accept myself so I can be a stronger individual who doesn’t beat myself up over what other people may think or how I negatively look at myself?” Below are ten helpful tips for beginning practicing self-acceptance. If you have questions or comments, please fill out the form at the bottom of this page.
- Point out your strengths and be proud of them
- Create a reliable support system
- Rid our life of as much negativity as possible (pay attention to who and what you’re surrounded by)
- Forgive yourself for past mistakes or flaws you see in yourself
- Donate your time and charitable items for a more significant cause to help others
- Know that accepting yourself is not giving up on striving to be a better person
- Treat yourself with kindness (take care of your mental, physical, and emotional health)
- Think kindly of yourself
- Speak well of others
- Reconcile the loss of a dream or goal that fell through – learn to make peace with it
Call Passages Addiction Treatment Centers today if you or a loved one is battling drugs and/or alcohol addiction. Our admissions department is available 24/7 and can be reached directly by calling our toll-free number at (888) 397-0112. We look forward to speaking with you soon.
Passages, Where Addiction Ends and Life Begins™
Follow Passages Malibu on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
