Do you genuinely love yourself? Giving yourself the love and care that you deserve?
Sometimes we can lose sight of the fact that we have to give ourselves the same love we give to those around us. We have to better take care of ourselves because it will help us to take care of others the way that we want to.
We can't pour from an empty cup. We have to nourish our mind, body, heart, and soul to be able to help others without draining ourselves.
Being empathetic and caring deeply is a beautiful thing but it's okay to admit the fact that it's also draining at times. Being empathetic is a beautiful thing, but it can hurt your mental health. It's beautiful to be the kind of person that loves deeply, it's beautiful to be the kind of person to notice if a friend is in need, it's so beautiful to be the person who others go to when they need help and someone to talk to, it's so beautiful to be trusted, to have the kind of compassion that makes them feel safe, it's beautiful to be this kind of person... but sometimes it may not feel beautiful.
I personally know how exhausting it can be because I'm an empath. It's so draining like you have their problems in your shoulder. They're not aware of course because they just want someone to lean on, it's not their fault that you absorbed every emotion around you. I know the feeling, I felt that.
When I was working in the corporate world, I have this friend that always sharing her pains, emotions, and stories with me. At first, it's tolerable, I can handle my emotions well, but one time, it just drained me. She's not aware that all her burdens slowly eating me inside. She said one time that every time she talks to me, she feels at ease and light, that all of her burdens gone, that's why she always talks to me and it became her habit. And being an empath, I gave too much compassion, love, and care until the point that I don't want to listen anymore... coz I slowly feel that it affects my mental health already. I absorbed her emotions and even the toxic ones.
That's when the time that I slowly walk away from her. I have to protect myself, to give myself the peace of mind that I deserved. I shared here some of my journey being an empath. How I have to let go of some people in my life to avoid their toxicity and negative vibes. How I trained myself not to get affected easily, it's hard. I still get affected easily but I know how to shrug it off now. two yrs. ago that I mentioned above messaged me thrice on messenger. But I ignored it, I may be bad but I have to protect myself. Yes, people change, maybe she's more mature now but what I don't trust is my empath self. I have a lot's on my plate that I don't want to absorb any negativities caused by other people. That's why I learned to mind my own business. I still get affected by other's issues but not like before.
Most of us don't appreciate ourselves. We always give others the love and care that we also deserve. They're always our priority more than we prioritize ourselves. Is it bad? Yes and No. Well, it depends on us. It's not bad to prioritize your family and
friends, as long as it's balanced with how you treat yourself. You also need others that will love you unconditionally and genuine. In many support groups, one of the things that helps a person to recover is that the group loves the individual until he or she can love themselves. The bad side of giving all to others? We tend to forget our self and others will abuse our kindness. They will abuse us because we care and love too much.
We should set boundaries, we should learn what to absorb and how to protect ourselves because if not, we will only continue to pour and pour and pour but eventually we're going to reach a breaking point and exhaustion.
Taking care of yourself is indeed a priority. It's never selfish, we can't give love if we don't give ourselves the love and care that we deserve. Coz at the end of the day, by taking care of yourself, you're setting yourself up to better take care of others.
*Lead image is mine.
Thanks for dropping by. Stay safe. ❤
-Hi Sis! Taking care of ourselves is a must..we should learn to pamper ourselves, at makaiwas sa mga not so good people, taking care of ourselves is not a selfish thing to do, to protect and give the best for ourselves! ❤🌷