Do you love yourself?

Do you love yourself? Do you treat yourself well?

It's taken me many years to get to the point where I can say I love myself.

Skylar

I don't recall ever treating myself badly.  But I can tell you from being here at OH for a number of years now that many here have a problem with anger.  What's that expression:  Depression is anger turned inward.  Well, lots have turned it inside and out.  I know it's easy when you're basically not accountable on web message boards to let loose sometimes and vent but there seems to be a lot of that in the obesity community.  And there's a lot of it going on outside of OH as well.   There are so many components to obesity:  Why you get there in the first place, how to lose the weight and change one's lifestyle, your mental state, your family environment, your physical health. . . . .

I guess in the end for everything to work out all systems have to be working in harmony. 

I learned to love me when I learned how much God loves me.  I learned how valuable I am to Him and I started to see me worth and potential.  Now I love me!  I see my imperfections but I know that He made no mistakes when He made me.  I am not perfect but I am a work in progress.  I am seeking His perfection.  I am grateful that I am me.  For the first time in my life I don't wish to be anybody else.  I am happy to be me! 

I can give that a 98%...still some residual shame in there, I must admit.

But yes, I love myself as a child of God and a being of light & love.

Very good question!  For me, this was at the heart of me being able to lose weight.  You would have never known it to talk to me or look at me because I took very good care of myself, but I absolutely hated myself for being fat.  I spent a lot of years being fat and getting fatter all the while doing everything in my power to lose.  Of course, I later found out that it was mostly medical, so all of my attempts were in vain, but I still blamed myself.  Once I learned that low carb and exercise were the answer to treat my condition, it was hard because it took me so long to lose that it was hard to do all of this hard work for me, when I really didn't like ME.

In group hypnotherapy, we did mental exercises to see ourselves thin.  That person that we could envision in our minds eye was worth the struggle.  That person was someone we could love when we could not find ourselves worthy of the struggle.  So yes, I stayed in the battle for that person that I would become and as I fought for her to become my reality, I got to know her and love her and respect me for what I was doing for her.  Now I can say that I love me and I'm worth every little thing that I go through to keep my weight where it is now. 

I pray everyone here gets a handle on their obesity issues so it doesn't take them YEARS to get to the point of loving themselves.

Mary

Wow, what a loaded, good question. I really appreciate all of your answers. I know this is my crossroad. I know and love who I am in Christ…

Yet….(not But)everyday I wonder why I self sabotage myself with food or cigarettes (a secret addiction I fall back on time to time)or coffee and not eat until night time, then pigging out. I must “not" love myself I think…..

I have been through hell and back for many years, this past year has been riddled with more pain that I care to ever go through again. I was diagnosed with Ms & a brain tumor and cancer…the next day I was let go because my boss thought I would be a burden on him (I was never outwardly sick or in self pity…I am a strong woman)…..the next day my fiancé left me saying that I would be fat & a medical burden. A year later, I am HEALED of all my disease (ty jesus!) still looking for a job with unemployment running out soon, I am a single mother with a beautiful daughter & house. I have had a year to do this right, not to kick a dead horse but I gained 40 pounds and feel miserable.

I so need to find the key to love myself….I believe it is a rejection issue from others and myself. I really like what you wrote Mary about seeing ourselves thin & loving and respecting that person.

I want out of this pit and know that by being honest about my feelings on here….it is the first step!