How self love improves mental health

Adrien Blogs 

3 minute read

In my lost blog I discussed what self-love is and is not. Also, how the word of God lays out that self-love is a principle we all need to learn how to practice well. Self-love improves our physical, mental, and spiritual health.   

How does this improve our mental health?  Love heals shame, trauma, guilt and negative perceptions of ourselves, which is often at the root of depression and fear. 

 One of the reasons we at times struggle to love ourselves is because of shame. Shame is one of the deadliest emotions to have.  If you let shame linger, it will cause you to hate yourself.  Shame about how much you weigh, shame about your sexual past, shame about your family or the person you used to be. Shame that even comes from being a victim. 

There is healthy and unhealthy shame. Healthy shame is guilt. It tells us we did something wrong, we learn from it, move on, and try to do better next time. However, shame tells you that you are a mistake, are flawed and not good enough.  Yes, we have flaws because of sin but when God created us, he created us good.

Sin disrupted who God originally created us to be. This is why Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins and show us the way. Through Jesus we are reconciled back to the God who created us. Back into our true identity. 

Once we heal our past, we can then be free to love our present and future self-better.  Allowing you to live in the purpose God created for you to live in.  In your purpose, you find another level of newness in your relationship and love for God, yourself, and others. God created you for a reason and we many times fall away from this out of fear but 

1 John 4:18 Says perfect love casts out fear. 

If I am walking in love for God, and love for myself, fear of what people will say will fade, because I love myself enough to not internalize it.  Fear about the future diminishes because love keeps me focused on my purpose so I can get through it. Love takes away the fear that was keeping us focused on the wrong things.  Often, we do not do what we can to better ourselves out of some kind of fear. 

In love there is no fear.   Love of God, love for self and love for others never ends. It is not something you do once, it is a lifestyle, Kingdom lifestyle.  

Self-love helps destroy shame, heal trauma, cure anxiety and be mentally fearless.  This is why self-love is important for your mental health. 

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Thank you and Take Care,  

Christina Adrien