3 tips to deepen connection with the self

Are you connected with yourself? Check out the three tips to deepen your relationship with self.

To be connected with yourself means to be attentive and attuned to what is going on inside of you. It’s normal to put effort into understanding others and intimate partners, but when it comes to yourself, how do you nurture the connection with your own body & mind?⁠ When you are disconnected from yourself you may experience chronic self-doubt, low self-confidence, a harsh inner voice, negative self-image, a pattern of dysfunctional relationship, lack of purpose in life, emotional instability etc.⁠

3 rituals to deepen the connection with the self (Unsplash )

By consciously connecting and attending to your body and personal needs, you take back your power to inherently know how to care for and nurture yourself.⁠ This allows you to create deeper relationships with others where you don’t ‘lose’ yourself or become enmeshed, leaving you feeling unseen, unheard and exhausted.⁠

Anna, Anxiety Therapist is often seen talking about mental health on her Instagram page. She suggested three ways by which you can deepen the connection with self.

1. Move your body

Movement can help build body awareness and agency. Body awareness is how conscious and connected you are to your own body. It's also known as kinesthesia, or the awareness of the position and movement of body parts in relation to muscles and joints. It involves the proprioceptive system, which tells you where your muscles are moving and how, as well as the vestibular system, which is made of organs in the inner ear that are in charge of spatial orientation. Movements such as balance exercises ,yoga, walking backwards or find a movement that you like the best.

2. When you felt most like yourself

This exercise can help you find emotional and nervous system regulation and help to keep grounded. Then recall a time in the last 24 hours when you felt most like yourself (extend the time frame if something doesn't come to mind from past 24 hours). As you remember this event in a detailed way - almost as if it was happening again - notice what happens in your body in this moment now. Especially notice your five senses in the memory. Recall another time you most felt like yourself, this time within the last several weeks. Again, as you remember this event in a detailed way - almost as if it was happening again - notice what happens in your body in this present moment.

3. Find your glimmers

Triggers are cues around us that signal a potential threat. Their opposite, glimmers, are cues that signal safety. Glimmers activate our ventral vagal nervous system (parasympathetic). Finding your glimmers can support you to feel more relaxed and open to connecting with yourself, others and the world. Examples: nature, hugs, certain colours, people, places or things.

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