Recognizing the societal pressures and internal struggles, we explore the importance of inner healing as a foundation for external changes. Through gentle practices of self-compassion, challenging negative thoughts, and fostering gratitude, we pave the way towards a more positive body image.
Additionally, we uncover the transformative power of therapeutic support, providing a safe space to unravel deeply ingrained beliefs, confront root causes, and cultivate self-compassion.
Ultimately, we celebrate the unique journey of each individual, embracing every victory and honoring the beauty that resides within.
In the hustle and bustle of life, we often forget the one person who deserves our love and care the most—ourselves. Join me, Ilona Varo, a licensed marriage and family therapist and mastery method coach, as I guide you on a journey to explore the profound importance of nurturing a healthy relationship with the person in the mirror.
You deserve to experience the power of a healthy self-relationship and it deserves your time and energy just as a loved one would.
First, let’s look at all the ways in which we damage our self relationship.
We can damage our relationship with ourselves in various ways, often unintentionally. Here are some common behaviors and actions that can harm this vital connection:
As a woman, and working mostly with female clientele, I find it important to talk about femininity, having a healthy connection to our bodies, and feeling confident/safe in our womanhood.
Connection to our bodies and embracing femininity is somewhat taboo still.
We are not taught to have a strong sense of self, or celebration of our curves. We are not usually encouraged to feel connected and empowered in our bodies.
As we enter the “I Miss You” season of 2019, I want to address the importance of self-compassion.
Yes, I know this is a RADICAL idea to some. So radical that you might stop reading right here, but bear with me for a second.
We all want an external solution to our loneliness, our sadness, and our mental health challenges. We think that when we have our plus one, our king or queen, our partner for life; that we can lean into that person and not have the self-work be so hard.
While external support is necessary and helpful for guidance, WE are the ones that have to do this work for ourselves.
WE have to become more resilient at tending to our emotions, caring for our souls, guiding our mental triggers, and being kinder to ourselves.
I often refer to the importance of developing healthy coping skills. One of the most valuable coping skills is that of "TRACKING."
Let's dig into what it means to "track" in psychological terms.
Not only can you track your progress, emotions, triggers, beliefs, thought patterns, actions, consequences, etc. You can also track the sensation of emotions in your body.
In trauma informed psychotherapy, it is crucial to create awareness around body sensations and embodied experiences. This gives us a sense of presence, power, awareness, connection, and helps foster a sense of security in our bodies.
There has been a lot of uproar lately about the new Weight Watchers — Kurbo app, designed for children and adolescents 8-17 to promote weight-loss, calorie counting (via the “points system”) and a “healthier lifestyle.”
I absolutely want us to educate, inspire, and support children from a young age to live their healthiest lives. However, being a chubby child who dieted all my childhood and young adult life, and now being an eating disorder professional (psychotherapist), I think it’s important to do some education on the damage of this philosophy behind “weight-loss.” I’ve seen it first hand, and it’s been proven again and again, that childhood weight-loss efforts can lead to or often worsen disordered eating and body image issues!
Doing the work isn't always fun. Yet it is necessary! Don't let "not feeling like it" derail you or get too loud in your head. There are a ton of things that I don't feel like doing, yet, I love results, so I do them anyways. Some tips to help you take action and do the things you don't really want to do!
Fear at best is an emotion that is trying to keep us safe, however, more often than not, fear is a perception problem keeping us stuck. This is why some people say that FEAR is an acronym that stands for “False Evidence Appearing Real.” I have a revised and helpful version of an acronym below that will help you deconstruct and stand up to your fears!
Are you intimately connected and aware of your triggers? There is a great quote that says that "triggers are the guides."Most people assume that triggers are bad, however, they are opportunities to stay sharp and on top of your healing.When you are triggered, you have a choice. You can either react, respond, or numb out. REACTION is usually knee jerk. There is not much thought behind it, it is automatic, it is impulsive, and usually destructive. RESPONSES are more thoughtful, intentional, wise, learned behavior, and practiced. They take time to develop, and usually lead to long term happiness and success. NUMBING out is basically shutting down and not having a response at all. This can feel very helpless, hopeless, and put you into victim mode.
As we move into the summer months, a very popular topic of conversation is body image and being comfortable in one’s skin. The summer months tend to expose a lot of skin, metaphorically and literally, bringing up a lot of vulnerability, self-consciousness, guilt, shame, comparison and more.
I’ve found that body image is a multi layered phenomenon and experience. It is complex, impacts many areas of our lives, and can affect both your mental and physical wellbeing.
In order to have a healthy body image, it is important to identify where you get most of your body image messages.
WE ALL WANT IT, BUT ARE WE WILLING TO WORK FOR IT?
There has been a lot of talk lately about change. New seasons, new phases of life, and stepping into new versions of ourselves. Yet change can be terrifying, uncomfortable and most of all unfamiliar. We love to stay comfortable and stagnant because it is EASIER than the alternative, even though change is what we are REALLY wanting. So how do we create change, if we are feeling scared, awkward, confused and helpless? Here are some tips to help you create change in your life.
