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ENTITY explains self-love science.

Self-love is a concept flooding feeds and conversations more and more. This is not without reason. For generations—if not for all of humanity— we have ignored low self-esteem and self-hate. Now self-love science is here to show us just how important accepting yourself really is.

The Importance Of Self-Love Infographic

Low Self-Esteem Is Far Too Common.

ENTITY explains self-love science.

Low self-esteem is often disregarded as a minor issue. Those with low-self esteem issues often face a just-feel-better-about-yourself-already mentality from others as if it were entirely a choice. The reality is low self-esteem is very difficult to control and is a much more serious problem than it seems.

It is far more common than expected. According to Joe Rubino, author of The Self-Esteem Books, 85% of people struggle with low self-esteem. This issue is not just about feeling bad about yourself sometimes. It has real consequences on mental and physical health.

The Destructiveness of Low Self-Esteem

ENTITY explains self-love science.

From an early age, people face self-esteem issues, especially surrounding body-image. According to the Mentor Resource Center, 44% of girls in high school actively try to lose weight. However, the number of young women experiencing self-esteem deficiency is actually much greater. Dove’s Self-Esteem Project reported that 7 of 10 girls in high school feel inadequate or that they don’t measure up in some way. Moreover, 75% of these girls experiencing low self-esteem turn towards destructive behavior, such as smoking, disordered eating, cutting and bullying among many others.

A study conducted by Eisenberg, Wall and Neumark-Sztainer states that 40% of boys in middle and high school exercised for the purpose of building muscle mass. 38% used protein powder in their efforts and 6% had even experimented with steroids.

Low self-esteem issues are plaguing people and leading to destructive and unhealthy behavior that can have long-term consequences. People turning towards drugs and self-harm proves that this is a pressing issue.

Self-love and self-acceptance is the beginning of a change.

Self-Acceptance Leads To A Happier Life.

ENTITY explains self-love science.

The charity Action for Happiness used 10 previously identified keys to a happier life as the basis for a study on life-satisfaction. Among these keys are Giving, Direction, Resilience and Self Acceptance. The study aimed to determine which of the 10 are easiest to achieve and which can  predict overall life satisfaction.

Of the 10 keys, Giving and Relating are the most commonly practiced. These essentially refer to how generous a person is and how important relationships are in their list of priorities. The study also found that Acceptance is the practice that predicts overall happiness the most strongly. Yet, self-acceptance ranked the lowest among the 10 keys.

Of the 5,000 people surveys, only 5% rated themselves as a 10 on a scale from 1 to 10. Almost half (48%) scored themselves 5 or less. In other words, the practice that most highly correlates with a happier life is the one we neglect the most.

The Benefits of Self-Acceptance

ENTITY explains self-love science.

Self-acceptance leading to an overall happier life is a very abstract concept that can feel very distant. However, there are other proven, concrete benefits to practicing self-love.

Though the studies are few, self-acceptance has been proven to lead to healthier decisions and a healthier lifestyle. For example, low self-esteem has been linked to depression and anxiety disorders as a cause in some circumstances and as a symptom in others. For this reason, practicing self-love is able to soothe the symptoms and, in some cases, lessen the risk of developing either.

In her study “The Cost of Seeking Self-Esteem“, Jennifer Crocker found that students with low self-esteem were highly motivated to achieve good grades for validation, but were under extreme stress. By contrast, students who did not seek validation in their grades but rather found it within themselves experienced significantly less stress while achieving higher grades. This same study found that students who work towards accepting themselves turn towards the use of alcohol and drugs far less than people who struggle with low self-esteem.

From helping with depression to lessening stress, practicing self-love is a necessity. However, this doesn’t make it any easier to start.

Self-love is a never-ending journey and there are countless ways to start.

Always remember, there is no wrong way to start to love yourself.

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