What the State of Your Health Has to Do with Your Self- (or Dis)Respect
I recently listened to a podcast where the host shared an intimate story of her overcoming an eating disorder earlier in her life. She talked a lot about her recovery and that respect had a lot to do with it. I had to admit that I hadn’t thought about it in that way but it made total sense! I realized that by caring for my health was a sign of self-respect and how I respected my body.
But as I listened to this particular episode, I wondered why it was so easy to disrespect ourselves while we show others the opposite. I mean, would you tell your grandmother she was a fat piece of shit and shame her for eating a few cookies? No, of course not. but we’ll say that to ourselves without hesitation. Would you tell your dad he was a dumbass for forgetting where the car keys are…AGAIN?! But we’re quick to spew that at ourselves as we run around the house frantically looking for our keys. You get the point.
We often treat ourselves horribly without hesitation, in ways we would never treat our loved ones. While many of you probably aren’t dealing with an eating disorder, you may still be disrespecting yourself without realizing it.
Here’s what I think . We show disrespect to ourselves when we:
make poor food choices: too much sugar and too many drive-thrus, soda, processed foods, etc.)
don’t get enough quality sleep
drink too much alcohol and for all the wrong reasons
clap back at ourselves whenever we make a mistake or “fail” at something
don’t drink enough water
don’t work out regularly
smoke unhealthy stuff
stay in unhealthy relationships
consume crap media
use food/drink to numb
have a negative body self-image
So many of us don’t realize how much we “disrespect” ourselves through our lifestyles. We become so used to treating ourselves this way that feels totally normal. You may be choosing to remain unhealthy because, in your eyes, getting healthy seems too hard, costs too much, or doesn’t seem worth it. But maybe a shift in perspective will help.
Like I shared earlier on in the post, If you treated someone you love and respect such as a beloved grandparent, the way you treat yourself, you wouldn’t stand for it. So instead of looking yourself as either being healthy or unhealthy, how would shifting to a viewpoint of self-respect or disrespect?
Does that change something inside for you?
Does that help you let go of an old story you keep telling yourself?
Does it help you see yourself in a new light?
What would self-respect look like when it came to your health?
Exercising daily
Pursuing purpose in your daily life
Drinking your body weight in ounces of clean water a day.
Drinking lIttle to no alcohol.
Getting 7-8 quality hours of sleep each night.
Eating clean and whole food that fuels your body.
Reading books to stimulate your mind and intellect.
Being in relationships that nurture and support you.
Having a positive body image
A positive attitude
Meditating daily
Journaling to deal with feelings
While I thought I had the healthy thing down pretty good, one thing I realized was that I still struggle with is a negative body image. I berate myself for my dimply thighs, my dull skin, my brittle hair, the size of my butt is just a tad bigger than I’d like and so on.
I don’t do chide myself every day but it’s a quick slide when I try on certain types of clothes on (shorts and bathing suits are major triggers) or I stand in front of my mirror sans makeup each morning. The way I think of my body is just as much a sign of disrespect as anything else so I’ve got some work to do. It’s an old story that I’ve been dragging around forever. I used to have enough self-disrespect there to make my high school boyfriend look like a Nicholas Sparks character. Self-deprecation was always how I dealt with my feelings about myself and if I could beat someone to judgment of me, then I’d somehow “won.”. Ugh. What a colossal waste of time and mental energy that was!
I mean, the amount of energy I’ve put into worrying about my weight, the way my legs look, yada yada yada, has been probably enough to power a small village each year. But this is one of my new health goals: no more disrespecting myself through self-bashing.
It was so great to hear this self-respect/disrespect perspective in the podcast because it helped me see that I’ve still got some things to work on. I can shift from hating the way my thighs look to loving how strong they are. I can shift from chastising myself for forgetting where I put my keys to being proud that I recognized an area of growth for myself.
I hope you take action on this and start to treat yourself the way you treat others in your life whom you love and respect. Just imagine what that’s going to FEEL like, physically and mentally.
When we know better, we do better. What we have—these bodies, these minds, these soul—these are priceless gifts. How are YOU showing your appreciation and respect for what you’ve been given?
Sidenote: I’m sharing the link to the podcast episode I mentioned in this post in my newsletter this week so if you would like to listen to it as well, make sure you sign up to be on my email list. to get the link.