Protecting Your Self-Esteem When Grieving
Grief will take a toll on almost anyone. It can affect you mentally and physically and it can have an effect on your self esteem. So it is important to find ways to protect your self esteem when grieving. Many people will tell you when they suffer a loss that they lose their self worth and their overall self esteem decreased. So not only can your self esteem take a battering, it can reduce your immune system and can have a negative effect on ones overall wellness.
All in all when you don’t feel good about yourself moving through grief can be more challenging than it already is. In this article we talk about protecting your self esteem when grieving, and we’ll offer a few suggestions to help you along the way.
Learn to Forgive Yourself
There are probably times in life when when you let your emotions get the better. But when you suffer a loss or are grieving it is normal to be impacted further.
This is a time when you need to forgive yourself. Don’t see cutting yourself some slack as a failure, or beating yourself up about negative feelings or thoughts about yourself. Instead try and find ways to ease the negative thoughts and forgive yourself.
Affirmations for Self Esteem and Self Love
Positive affirmations are an efficient technique to boost your self-love. To get the best results with affirmations you need to create them around your weaknesses. Once you have written your positive affirmations keep a copy with you at all times.
We recommend reading your affirmations out loud each morning to provide you with the best start to your day. Affirmation can help to give you a stronger sense of self if you feel a loss of control among you feelings of grief.
Learn to Forgive Others
Just as important as forgiving yourself is forgiving others. People are going to let you down in your life. They may not do this intentionally but it can make you very angry when it happens. When you suffer a loss and are grieving not only do you not know how to act, but the same goes for people around you. So in between thoughts try and forgive them. This can help you from being reactive and acting in a way that you would later regret.
If you are holding on to grudges with certain people then you need to learn to let go of them. Grudges do not help anyone. Any kind of resentment towards another person is a bad thing. Tell yourself that these people did not intentionally make you angry and then move on with your life. Remember forgiving does not mean something is right. But it gives you control over what you can and can’t control in this difficult time.
Focusing on What You Can Do
All of us have weaknesses and it is a good idea to identify these and work on improving them. But it is not good to constantly focus on what is negative about yourself. our issues.
You likely feel bad about things. Loss brings about pain where you never expected. Keeping this in mind do your best to be gentle and do things that will bring in anything that is positive and healthy. Take time to focus on eating well, reading positive material and continue with, or start a small hobby that bring some sense of normalcy. Start small and focus on what you can do and less of what you cannot. Practice this and it will help to protect your self esteem while grieving.
Accept Yourself
If you tend to wish that you were someone else then you need to stop this. Some people are obsessed with what others think about them and this is not helpful for your self-worth. Worrying about what others think about you can elevate your stress levels which will not help with controlling your emotions. Accept yourself and focus on yourself.
Have Belief in Yourself
Controlling your emotions is not an easy thing to do. You will need to keep working at it and there may be times when you feel like giving up. Believe in yourself that you can effectively control your emotions and prevent any possibility of quitting. Without belief in yourself, you are depriving yourself of hope for a better future.
Concluding Self Esteem and Grieving
Moving through, or living aside grief takes time. No one said this will be easy. However, there are small things you can do to help protect your self esteem through grief. Be gentle, and engage in things that make you feel less lonely and anxious. When you are driven and busy you will be less susceptible to unwanted emotions.
