Why We Can’t Have Healthy, Happy Relationships Without Self-Love

During my early 20’s I ended up in a 5 year relationship that taught me many things.  The second half of my 20’s I avoided dating and decided to work on myself because of the many things I learned in that relationship.  I was struggling with body image and disordered eating and felt so uncomfortable in my body.  I learned many things the hard way and share in my Tiny Buddha article Why We Can’t Have Healthy, Happy Relationships Without Self-Love.

I didn’t know how to be authentic or real and was so worried about what others, including the guy in that relationship, thought about me.  I just tried to be who I thought they wanted me to be or who I thought they would like.  I was easily swayed by others and didn’t know what my own values where, as I was so out of tune with my body.  I was constantly battling my body and ignoring her signals and my own intuition.  I knew going into that relationship that this guy was not my type and many things he did and said set off signals that I completely ignored.  He was persistent and I didn’t know how to say no.

One of the biggest lessons I realized once I left that relationship was that I never would have entered it had I loved myself first.  I share about it and tips on how to start building self love in my article on Tiny Buddha, Why We Can’t Have Healthy, Happy Relationships Without Self-Love.