The human body has a tremendous self-healing power and regeneration ability after injuries. This is especially true of older adults. This was confirmed by a qualitative study of interviews with nine experts and six older adults.
One important aspect of self healing is loving yourself. This includes self-compassion and practicing mindfulness.
Self-love
Despite the fact that your aunt Suzanne won’t stop talking about it, every yoga studio is preaching it, and everyone on TikTok is dropping the term like its hot, self-love can still feel pretty nebulous. But when it comes to self healing, it’s a crucial part of the process.
It’s about putting yourself first and acknowledging your feelings—even if they’re not particularly pleasant. Having a curated playlist of mood-boosting music at the ready is one way to do that, as is journaling (here are some helpful journal prompts).
It’s also about learning to forgive yourself when you make mistakes. “Everyone has a finite amount of energy, and wasting it on relationships and situations that don’t honor your needs or bring you joy depletes it,” explains therapist and wellness coach Elizabeth Jarquin. That’s why it’s important to practice healthy boundaries. That doesn’t mean you’re heartless, but it does allow you to quickly learn from your mistakes and walk away from toxic situations.
Self-compassion
Self-compassion is a skill set that takes practice. It also requires a counselor to guide you through the process. This is because it can be difficult to learn alone. It’s important to find a therapist who understands and supports your healing journey.
One of the biggest benefits of self-compassion is that it helps you deal with trauma. It allows you to recognize that your suffering is normal and that things will get better. This can help you overcome a sense of isolation caused by your trauma.
Self-compassion involves three components: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Self-kindness is being kind to yourself when you fail or make a mistake. Common humanity is recognizing that suffering is a part of the human condition. Finally, mindfulness is being aware of your feelings and experiences without judgment.
Self-awareness
Self-awareness is a way of shining a light on parts of your internal world that can be buried down, pushed aside or go unnoticed. It can help you heal traumatic emotions, develop insights and learn to become more powerful than your negative thoughts. It can also help you gain inner peace and find balance.
A high level of self-awareness leads to improved mental health, better relationships with loved ones and a happier life. It also helps you recognise negative patterns and take action to overcome them. For example, if you often cover up your feelings of confusion at work, you can use self-awareness to improve communication and achieve a more satisfying result for everyone involved.
This awareness also allows you to explore your conditioned fears, understand them and then swim out of them. This makes you more likely to experience the psychological state of flow, which is a feeling of enjoyment, peace and bliss. However, it’s important to note that self-awareness must be balanced with self-compassion and self-care. Otherwise, it can be a source of stress and anxiety.
Self-care
Self-care is a practice that helps people improve their mental health. It is a combination of different activities that can help a person feel better in all aspects of life. These activities include physical, emotional, social, and spiritual care. They can include everything from getting regular exercise to reading a book to meditating. It is important to find the right balance between each of these pillars in order to feel good.
Self-care can also help someone identify their stressors and learn coping strategies to manage them. A good way to start is by identifying what things in one’s life cause stress and making a list of them. This can help a person determine whether they need to make any changes in their life.
It can be difficult to get started with self-care, especially if a person is recovering from trauma or depression. In these cases, it is helpful to seek support from a behavioral health provider or primary care doctor.
