Self-love and wellness are typically viewed as two separate topics. While they do each require us to engage in some different sets of behavior, there is a great deal of overlap and I would argue you cannot fully have one without the other. My personal self love journey began long before I had an appreciation for what an improved sense of self love can do for your overall wellness.
To start, I would like to clarify what I mean when I say ‘wellness’. It is a major buzzword these days and I think we all have our own definition, but for the purpose of this article here is mine.
Wellness is your overall state of health.
This includes your mental, physical, and emotional health- not just how many times you hit the gym each week or how many classes you can get to. The whole mind, body and soul thing- you got me? My hope is that after reading my definition, some piece of it resonates with your own definition of wellness.
In order for us to live a fully ‘well’ life, we need to work toward all components of this. Not just the body piece, which there is so much pressure to do. This is especially true for women. This pressure begins at a young age. I am finding in my personal research on self-love that we carry this weight with us through much, if not all of our lives.
I learned from my own experiences that having a visible 6 pack isn’t the final destination of our wellness journey, nor is it the answer to any of life’s questions. It turns out, there is no final destination. Both our wellness and self-love journeys are continuous. At times one or both may require more of our attention and effort, there will be ups and downs, and maybe some road blocks along the way. The key is to find balance among it all, to find sustainable behavior change, and not being afraid to ask for help.
Breanne Cogan is a Boston based BCBA with a background in special education and a short stint as a personal trainer. By day, she can be found working in homes around the city with children and families of children with Autism. In her spare time she is spreading the word about the importance of overall wellness and self-love through BC Wellness. You can find more information, including how to join her virtually based Self-Love Group or sign up for 1:1 coaching at her website: www.bcwellnessco.com
