 Hey Psych2Goers, we're so glad to see you here, and we want to thank you for supporting us. Your ongoing help, sharing, and liking has helped Psych2Go continue our mission to make psychology accessible to everyone. Now, let's begin, shall we? Self-love is an important aspect to your well-being. It affects how you view yourself, the decisions you make, and your relationships with others. However, you may have grown up in an undesirable situation, and these circumstances can make loving yourself extremely difficult. As a disclaimer, we wanted to say that self-love is a serious and sensitive subject. This video is for informative purposes only, and is in no way intended to serve as professional mental health advice. If you feel that you're struggling, it's best to seek help from a qualified mental health professional or doctor. With all of that said, let's look at the 10 signs you might be lacking in self-love. 1. You hide your true self from others Do you feel like a metaphorical chameleon? Do you change when you're around others and hide certain parts of your personality? This process is known as masking. You might worry about being judged for who you are, and act differently to make up for it. Or perhaps you don't like a certain aspect about yourself, and you try to change your behavior to satisfy yourself. 2. You overanalyze your own behavior Lacking in self-love leads you to overanalyze your own behavior. You can then use this information about your behavior to develop a mask. You study the behavior of people around you so you can properly mimic them. This becomes problematic when you're hyperanalyzing your behaviors and are then changing yourself in order to become someone else. 3. You have a strong fear of being judged by others Are you worried about what others think of you? Do you think others are closely observing what you're doing, how you're acting, or what you're wearing to the point that it makes it hard to go out in public? You might find yourself needing to make serious changes before considering yourself acceptable to go out. These feelings are usually highly irrational and may be impacting your relationships with others. 4. You struggle with physical and mental self-care Do you find that you aren't treating your body and mind as well as you should? You might be skipping meals or overeating. In some cases, you may have turned to alcohol and other substances to cope with your feelings. You might not be taking enough time out for yourself and are neglecting to build your own happiness. If you relate to this, how do you plan to improve your self-care? 5. You feel inferior to others You might feel that you're somehow inferior to others. You could be insecure about your personality, intelligence, or your appearance. These insecurities combined with a hyper-awareness of others in comparison leaves you to harshly judge yourself and try to mask who you are. 6. You're too hard on yourself Do you find yourself diminishing your accomplishments and focusing on your failures? Do you think that you're not doing enough? It's like being in a constant uphill battle to achieve more without taking a moment to appreciate what you've done. You compare yourself to others and hyper-fixate on your shortcomings, never feeling satisfied with what you have. 7. You lack confidence Do you struggle to feel like your opinion and your voice matter? Lacking confidence in yourself can lead you to discredit your ideas and keep quiet instead of speaking up. Similar to feeling inferior, you feel that it's best to not offer any input out of fear of being rejected or judged. 8. You need excessive affirmation and attention Do you find that you need excessive affirmation that you're doing okay? You might have a hard time accepting who you are and need the attention and affection from others in order to feel validated. This puts a tremendous strain on relationships and can be emotionally taxing for you and the people around you. 9. You have difficult and unstable relationships Relationships are difficult enough to traverse, but if you're lacking in self-love, you might have some unique problems. You might feel that you shut others out of your life because of fear of rejection. Or you might feel that you are the inferior partner in a relationship and need constant validation. You think your partner is too good for you, and this creates an unhealthy dynamic. 10. You settle for less You settle for less than what you can achieve. Did you give up on a dream and settle for something completely different? Part of this may be due to your fear of failure, or you may not feel that you have what it takes and sell yourself short on achieving what you truly want. You may find yourself choosing to settle for a less satisfactory life. Self-love is truly important. Life is difficult and has many ups and downs. It's important to know that things can improve. If you are struggling, it's always good to try and reach out and talk with someone you trust. Sometimes, all it takes is getting in contact with the right mental health professional and taking steps to create a better life. If you enjoyed watching this video, give us a thumbs up and share it with someone who might find it helpful too. The studies and references are listed in the description below. There's also a resource for mental and substance use disorders listed for you too. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button for more Psych2Go videos, and as always, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.