Therapy Deep Dive: Embracing Your Self-worth
Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker shares his personal journey of embracing his self-worth in hope that we can all find and embrace our worth. What have you learned on your journey? Let's chat in the comments!
Comments (5)
Darn it. I just watched an episode of one of the three best tear jerker animes I know that can make me cry, Violet Evergarden. And now I watch this. I was not feeling sentimental today. Now I do. Bad people, bad. Dont make me have sentimental feelings. Not nice. Cause then I cry. Dont be making people cry. 🥲😆
I just made a rule, as minimum to be as nice to myself on the self talk as Id want the people, especially those I like, to be with themselves. It worked wonders. I am also brutally honest to myself, i just think I can be honest and as realistic as I can with the self talk without being mean.
Thank you for your openness, Jono. It's truly an inspiring video and I am so happy to hear you say that you love yourself now! I grew up with an unstable mother who hated herself. And even though she loved me and I loved her, I still got the message that I was unloveable, too, for I was her daughter, after all. I became the peacekeeper in the family and in the neighbourhood, sometimes literally throwing myself between adults in physical fights. I developed severe control and moral OCD and thought (and still think) I'm only worthy when I sacrifice myself for the greater good. After years of therapy, I know now that that was a coping mechanism I needed to survive, but truly loving myself is still a hard job. My mom passed away almost three years ago, and I still can't erase the thoughts and voices telling me I'm worthless, or worth less. It feels like branches of a tree that grew along with me, keeping me stable. I need to cut them off, but who will I be without them? How will I stand if not supported by those branches? That is the fear I have to face, and the answer is probably becoming my own support system and biggest fan. This became quite philosophical and autobiographical!
Wow, thank you for sharing this. This message is beautiful and I relate very much 💜💜💜 I’m currently mustering the courage to be more vulnerable in a public way that my work is calling me to do, and seeing you model it here is very inspiring.
Thank you, Jono!! Every human being has strengths and weaknesses. Every human being is worthy of love. I see being gay and having autism as a blessing because it helps me to have empathy and compassion for those who are different. I help adults with disabilities for my job, and if there is one thing my job has taught me, it’s that it's really hard to hate a person when you know their story. I know that if you listen to a person’s story and take the time to get to know them, you can’t help but love that person!