Be-Good-To-Yourself Therapy

1. Put yourself first. You can't be anyone else unless you take care of yourself.
   
2. Express your opinions. It's good to hear yourself talk.
3. When you feel like running away, let yourself feel the scare. Think about what you fear will happen and decide what you need to do.
4. When you're hurt, tell the person who hurt you. Keeping it inside makes it grow.
5. When you have work to do and you don't want to do it, decide what really needs to be done and what can wait.
6. When you want something else, ask. You'll be OK if they say no. Asking is being true to yourself.
7. Trust yourself. You know what you want and need.
8. Let your feelings be known. They are important.
9. Take the time and space you need, even if other people are wanting something from you.
10. When you're angry, let yourself feel the anger. Decide what you want to do, just feel it, express it, or take some action.
11. When you see someone else's hurt face, breathe. You are not responsible for making other people happy.
12. When you feel alone, know there are people that want to be with you. Visualise what it would be like to be with each of them. Decide if you want to make that happen.
13. When you need something, don't talk yourself out of it. Even if you can't have it, it's OK to need.
14. Value your thinking, you do it well.
15. When you're scared let someone know. Isolating yourself when you're scared makes it worse.
16. When you're sad, think about what would be comforting.
17. When you have tears, cry.
18. When people turn you down, it usually has to do with them and not with you. Ask someone else for what you need.

From the book, Be-Good-To-Yourself Therapy (Elf Self Help)
Written by Cherry Hartman