06/12/2025
Best thing I did for my mental health?
Learning to love myself.
If you donāt love yourself, why would you choose to take good care of yourself, put yourself first, choose healthy habits, show up for yourself, go after your dreams, gift yourself the beauty in life?
This is what I realised after many years of self-neglect, without feeling like Iād been able to āfixā or āsolveā it.
So I decided to put all of my āproblemsā to one side, and fully focus on building self love, laying deep foundations of compassion, forgiveness, empathy and understanding for meeee & my experiences in life, where there were none.
The experiment worked - yay š„³
& once I started feeling like I truly was falling in love with myself (which btw is a wild and strange experienceā¦ itās still unfolding for me), the addictions, numbing, unhealthy habits, and old ways of being just naturally started falling away with little to no effortā¦ because Iād made the effort to lean into loving myself & when you love yourself truly, you just no longer want those things for yourself.
I think we live in a culture where we expect a quick fix or magic pill. But lasting foundations arenāt laid overnight. It has taken years to get to this point, but I started truly feeling myself falling in love with meeeee last year I think. And itās a beautiful, strange (for people who have previously operated from self loathing) & wild experience. It is profound, and worth every second of effort Iāve put in.
Iām 36, but in many ways I feel as though Iām at the beginning of my life.
I do still have times & moments where I struggle with my mental health - and this year has been a BIG challenge for me. But it hasnāt shaken the foundations of self-love Iāve taken time to lay, which feels huge. And loving myself, while taking some getting used to, tastes sweeter than I ever could have imagined.
What led me down this path? Experiencing 4 massive mental health breakdowns before the age of 30.
Poor mental health is awful and I wouldnāt wish it on anyone. But, it got me to where I am now, and Iām thankful that itās redirected my energy and focus, towards cultivating love for myself, which has in turn redirected my whole life and everything I hope and dream of for myself.
If youāre finding navigating mental health challenges tough & want to cultivate self love, I would love to walk alongside you on your journey.
Find out more about me & my work at lushlunar.comā¦ & never give up on yourself š
ššš
