Managing your mind

Students and sta share their forms of self-love

Ameera Tai taiame000@hsestudents.org

According to the Oxford English dictionary, self-love is de ned as the feeling that one’s own happiness and wishes are important. Spending time with friends and family, listening to music and practicing yoga are ways students show themselves love.

“[To me] self-love is looking out for your personal needs, and putting those rst,” senior Alyssa De Smet said.

While it can be confused with conceitedness or sel shness, having an appreciation for oneself is important for many aspects of life. De Smet practices self-care as an outlet to relieve her stress and protect her mental health. According to Srini Pillay, the assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, having a low sense of self-acceptance can disrupt the emotional centers of the brain, and in turn create more stress.

“Self-love revolves around the body and eating healthy,” junior Morgan Wright said. Additionally, as the mind and body are interconnected, loving oneself can provide multiple physical bene ts. Pillay said this can include increased serotonin (a neurotransmitter associated with happiness), lowered blood pressure and better quality of sleep. Wright expresses love to herself by going to the gym and eating healthy. However, practicing self-love looks di erent for everyone.

“I joined a yoga studio, [and] that’s helped me [with] stress relief in my life,” De Smet said.

Outside of attending the gym, there are many other ways self love is expressed through physical activity. Yoga is a common way people look to promote self healing, with focus being on one’s inner self. Hiking is an exercise that co-sponsor of bring change to mind (BC2M) club Katie Hagerty practice. She feels that hiking allows her to put her in a better headspace.

“Anytime I hang out with my family, it usually puts me in a good mood,” Hagerty said. “When I feel down on myself, one of them [will] remind me of something I love, and it works out.”

Surrounding oneself with loved ones is a commonly overlooked practice in self-love. Hagerty emphasizes how having positive gures in one’s life can support and strengthen their self-love. One practice De Smet learned in BC2M is gratitude journaling. Journaling provides bene ts such as creating self awareness of things that could have been previously missed and allowing her to be more present in her life.

“Gratitude journaling [is when you] make a list of what you’re grateful for and ways you [can] improve your strengths,” De Smet said. “When I don’t do gratitude journaling or yoga, I get in my head a lot and get stressed [out]. Life and schoolwork can become cluttered.”

By not allowing time for personal self-love practices, major stressors can go ignored and self-esteem can be lowered. For Hagerty, it makes it di cult to do things for others and feel exhausted.

“ e biggest thing is being more open and honest about it,” Hagerty said. “If I’m not always feeling good, [I] know that it’s okay.”

Finding love for oneself can be di cult, but its importance can not be overlooked. Expressing self-love will di er for everyone, as everyone has di erent needs.

“Your brain is where you live,” Wright said. “You need to make sure that you love it.”