 Hey, lovely Psych2Goers, welcome back to our channel. It's only with your support that we can make psychology and mental health more accessible to everyone. So, thank you for all the love that you've given us. Now, let's continue. Do you think you might be struggling with self-love? Oftentimes, it can be much easier to look outward and focus on what's happening externally around you rather than look inward and try to work on yourself. But without self-love, you might unconsciously get into toxic relationships, toxic habits, and might even develop depression. The first step to change this is self-awareness. So, here are five indicators that you're struggling to love yourself. Number one, you feel bad when you take time out for yourself. Do you feel guilty when you take time out for yourself? Do you feel like you could be doing other, more productive things or that you should be helping others during your downtime? When you feel like this, you might have a low sense of self-worth and you think that it's wrong or selfish to put yourself first. Practicing proper self-care means taking time out for yourself too. When you sit down and relax with a good book or take a small nap, it releases hormones in the brain like endorphins to help calm you and put you at ease. Having downtime also allows you the chance to send to yourself and internally process your day-to-day happenings. A little self-care can go a long way. Number two, you keep falling for toxic people. When you think about your current or past relationships, is there an emerging pattern? Were they all toxic or manipulative in some way, shape, or form? Did they or do they mistreat, belittle, or insult you? First and foremost, no one has the right to treat you this way. When you have low self-esteem, this can be a sign that you're lacking in self-love and can also be one of the reasons you keep falling for toxic partners. If you struggle to respect yourself, it's hard to find other people that will respect you too. You might struggle with poor self-esteem issues because of past relationship experiences or because of traumatic childhood experiences. Feeling good about yourself is important. Loving yourself even more so. Number three, you apologize for things even when you don't need to. Do you find that you impulsively say sorry a lot? Do other people tell you to just stop apologizing? If this sounds like you, you're probably saying sorry even when you don't need to. The root of this impulse can be a lack of self-love. You might say sorry when you haven't even done anything wrong or when you're trying to take responsibility for someone else's mistake or for a problem that you didn't cause or had any control over. Over-apologizing can come from fearing conflict or when you're more focused on other people's needs over your own. According to Sharon Martin, a licensed psychotherapist, over-apologizing can also stem from your own sense of perfectionism. When you hold yourself to impossibly high standards, you constantly feel inadequate and feel a need to apologize for every tiny thing that you do imperfectly. When you lack self-love, you lack the grace to cover yourself. Number four, you beat yourself up over your past failures and mistakes. Do you dwell on your past mistakes? Are you fraught with self-doubt and needlessly kick yourself when you think of any of your past failures? There are some deeply rooted reasons why your mind can't seem to quiet your inner self-critic. According to Dr. Kristin Neff's book Self-Compassion, The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, the self-critic in your mind perceives that past mistakes are equal to a real-life danger, making you think that you're at risk of not being loved or accepted. Your self-critic falsely informs you that the best way to motivate you is to beat yourself up for a mistake. Dr. Neff goes on to explain that while listening to this relentless self-criticism may seem motivating in the short term, it could actually be demotivating in the long term. Self-compassion is a stronger tool, allowing you to acknowledge your mistake and move forward rather than ruminating on it. Self-compassion and self-love go hand in hand. And number five, you second-guess yourself and struggle to trust your own intuition. If you're stuck in the mental loop of reliving your past mistakes, this can also make it harder to trust in yourself. Do you question whether you're good enough or assume unnecessary blame? Do you retreat from the idea of a more connected and active lifestyle? Stress management coach Celestine Fedley details self-trust as a step towards self-love. She suggests getting to the bottom of what your fears are by asking yourself what you're really scared of and taking time to silence your mind so you can lean into what your true feelings and desires are. Do you think you're struggling with self-love? How do you foster self-love in your life? Let us know in the comments below. If you have a friend or someone you care about who seems to lack self-love, consider sharing this video with them. The studies and references used are listed in the description below. Don't forget to hit the like and subscribe button for more Psych2Go videos and turn on the notification bell icon to get notified whenever we post a new one. Thanks so much for watching and we'll see you soon.