“Why is self-love important?” For many of us, self-love might look like telling ourselves affirmations or reading self-help books. Self-love is a state of appreciation one gains that supports their physical, mental, and overall health. Self-love means never settling for less, knowing your worth, and treating yourself with kindness and respect.

Self-love can be different for each person because we all have different ways we take care of ourselves. Finding out what self-love means is an important part of mental health.

Some ways to practice self-love include picking up healthy habits, start caring about the food you eat, and doing physical activity daily. Also a great way to practice self-love may be practicing good self-care. You may feel more comfortable in your body once you take care of your basic needs. This includes exercise, proper sleep, nutrition, healthy social interactions, and maintaining good hygiene.

For many people, self-love is just another way to say self-care. To practice self-care, one must take one day out of the week to relax. This may include taking a bubble bath, doing facemasks, reading, catching up on sleep, or even watching your favorite television show. Also, when caring for yourself, you might want to put the phone down and do something creative to keep the mind at ease.

Finally, when practicing self-love, start by listening to your body, giving yourself a break from self-judgment, forgiving yourself, being kind, truthful, and patient. We know now that self-love provides us with the ability to make healthy decisions in life.