Never in a million years, would I have ever imagined my life the way it is now. I get asked, well how did you do it? How did you finally let go? How did you finally love yourself? I simply say, “Well, I said goodbye to the old me.”
My name is Areena Antoine and this is my journey to self-love. Growing up, I never identified with anyone or anything. It was hard to fit in. Especially hard to fit into the boxes that people categorized me in. This categorization felt like I had to play a role to maintain my place within society. However, I knew I was different in terms of my beautiful cultural background. I was born on a multicultural island called Paradise Mauritius Island and I was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. Vancouver was home and for some reason, the people I CHOSE to let into MY LIFE made it hard for me to call it home. You see sometimes, we attract the wrong people in our lives because we are not treating ourselves right. I realized that in my 20 years of life, I developed a victim mentality and that’s when things got loud and I lost myself. I experienced anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. So.. How did I overcome this dark cloud hanging over my head?
Here are my tips & tricks to self-love
1. Talk to Someone
Anyone, you feel safe to do so. Take a chance, you will be surprised by how someone can help open a door to self-help, so you can embrace self-love.
2. Talk to Professionals
After 2 failed generalized sessions with two different judgemental/careless therapists, I finally found one success session with a therapist who LISTENED to me. Try. Keep trying until you find the one!
3. Learn & Apply
My therapist never gave me psychological homework, and NEVER told me how I should feel. However, she questioned and challenged me by simply LISTENING. I spent 20 years of my life wishing to be happy and when she asked me, “ You say you want to be happy, well how would that look like for you?” That simple question gave me this huge epiphany of how I never knew what would make me happy because I always focused on what did not.
4. Become The Star Of Your Own Movie
The more I learn to let go, the more results come to me naturally. Approval, validation, worthiness, and love already existed inside of me. I became self-reliant. I did not need anything, because I was everything. I am everything I need. I always say “I don't need but, I am and I have”.
5. Help Out Your Community
I volunteered as a Go Girls Mentor, where I empowered 12-year-old girls to have a healthier mind and body. That was the key to self-love for me. The key was to give back in a way that I was never helped when I was growing up. Go Girls Mentor experience helped me find the passion to start 90' SELF L♡VE CLUB, an Insta journal with all my tips and tricks to self-love to empower whomever it may resonate with.
Contact Info
Website: https://msha.ke/90selfloveclub/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/90selfloveclub/