Mental Health Awareness Month: Power Love Tips from a Talkspace Therapist

This Mental Health Awareness Month, we wanted to learn more about ways to work mindfulness and self-love into your daily life, and how that can impact your relationship with yourself and others. We heard from Talkspace Therapist, Bisma Anwar, LPC, LMHC, who shared a few tips on how to power love from the inside out.

Why is it important to highlight Mental Health Awareness Month?

Mental Health Awareness Month serves as a reminder for all of us that mental health is important. People with mental health problems deserve support, understanding, and compassion to help them work towards healing. This month helps raise awareness of trauma and the effects it can have on families, and communities' physical, emotional, and mental health.

How does the theme “Power Love from the Inside Out” resonate with you, especially from the lens of Mental Health Awareness Month?

Powering love from the inside out has to do with self-love. We need to focus on ourselves by making time for self care and addressing our needs. The act of cultivating a healthy relationship with oneself is the practice of self-love. When we love ourselves, we recognize and appreciate our own value. Mental Health Awareness Month is a time to reflect on our mental health and recognize if we have been struggling and need support. Getting the help that we need is also a form of self-love and self compassion.

How can people work on powering love from within? How can this benefit our relationships externally?

When you are working on powering love you should be taking care of yourself in the same way that you would take care of someone you love and respect. You will feel more confident when you treat yourself better. Setting healthy boundaries in relationships is a form of self-love. This allows us to engage and be present with others in an authentic way.

What are some tips you can offer on how people can practice powering love from within?

The best way to practice powering love from within is to step outside of one's comfort zone. Learning a new skill, interviewing for a job, saying no, and starting a new exercise routine are all ways to start loving yourself more. Mindfulness and meditation can help build self-care habits. If we have negative thoughts, rather than letting them take over, we should focus on more positive ones. Take care to celebrate your wins, big and small.

Why is it important to begin with loving yourself, and then sharing it with others?

Figuring out how to cherish and support yourself is challenging. It requires you to prioritize your own needs over those of others and to take time for yourself. Although it may seem selfish, you will eventually realize that you must take care of yourself before you can care for others. You cannot pour from an empty cup, so make sure you are doing what you can to love yourself and then you can help and support others.

What are some of your favorite mindfulness tips/exercises?

Mindfulness walking, running, or moving helps us focus on the sensation of moving our bodies. When you go for a mindfulness walk, you might notice the breeze, feel the various textures on the ground or nearby surfaces, and the various smells in your surroundings.

Mindfulness eating means paying attention to how your food tastes, looks, and feels. Try this with a cup of coffee or tea, or a piece of chocolate. You could pay attention to the liquid's temperature, the steam it produces, or how the chocolate feels on your tongue, and how sweet it tastes.

Mindfulness meditation creates awareness by focusing on your breathing, thoughts, body sensations, or things you can sense around you. If your mind starts to wander, try to bring it back to the present. Yoga also helps many people focus on the present moment and concentrate on their breathing.