Short messages on Mental health, stress and anxiety issues from Respect Yourself, the guidance site for young people to help make good decisions in life.
“We have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, or that people will act in a certain way. But we are in charge of our own attitudes.” – Charles R Swindoll
Focus on loving yourself instead of loving the idea of other people loving you.
Instead of hating someone, think of how you can make their life better. If you’re lucky, they may change; if not, then you still get to feel good about trying.
Hatred for somebody won’t stop them doing whatever it is you ‘hate’, but it will cause you to feel bad feelings inside yourself.
When dealing with moments of intense stress or feelings, take time out for yourself, do relaxation techniques or exercise. Time out will often help overcome the sense that everything is too much.
Everyone has overwhelming feelings sometimes in life – some more than others. Even if you feel relatively good about yourself things can still temporarily overwhelm you.
If you do things you enjoy and feel free, you are more likely to feel good about yourself. Try exercise – the endorphins released make us feel better about ourselves.
If you have negative feelings about yourself, reach out to people who care about you and tell them how you are feeling.
If you treat children with kindness and love, they are more likely to treat themselves kindly, and carry this through adolescence into adulthood.
It is incredibly frustrating even as an adult not to have your feelings acknowledged – for a child it is confusing and causes deep emotional pain which can lead to many forms of psychological disorder.