Tag: self love

podcast

Episode 9: A Diet of Self-Love

Impower You

Listen to episode 9 on my Breaker.audio page!

The concept of self-love was brought to my attention by Michelle Minero a therapist in San Francisco, who wrote an amazing book titled ‘The Self Love Diet: The Only Diet That Works’. It’s a fantastic book and I highly recommend it if you suffering from body issues or are healing from depression. You can grab a copy at TheSelfLoveDiet.org. I read the book two years ago and still have it on my Kindle. An action we can take toward healing is stopping negative thoughts. Once we start thinking negatively about ourselves it’s too easy to stay stuck in that loop. It’s vital that we counter attack our judgmental thoughts with loving thoughts and actions.

Please support this podcast for $1/month on Patreon.com/Loviedo.

podcast

Episode 4: Losing My Codependency

Impower You

What is your self-care win this week? In this mini-podcast I talk about my self-care win of not being codependent. After a lifetime of acting codependent. Here is a story of how I lost my codependency last summer.

Listen to the podcast on Breaker.com

When a few of my friends moved away last summer, I was feeling sad and lonely. One of those friends didn’t say goodbye. I was hurt. For about two weeks I felt sorry for myself and wondered how soon I could make new friends. Then I remembered the quote “Just because you think you’re stuck, doesn’t mean you are.” (Coincidentally this was from a codependency group.) I meditated and set boundaries. I removed the phone number of the friend who didn’t feel the need to say goodbye and stopped following her on Instagram. The first two weeks were rough. I wanted to reach out, but I knew that I had reached out enough. I knew deep in my bones that it was time to let them go on with their journey. This happened quickly, but in reality it was years of therapy that brought me to this point.

Six months later, I haven’t feel codependent towards them or any of my friends. When I occasionally start feeling the need to reach out I first search for other options, like going for a hike by myself, or stopping at a cafe for a drink and a book or language study session. It’s amazing because I never realized that I could feel this way. I didn’t know that I was codependent or that I needed to work on this issue, but I am feeling like a real winner about it.

  • What is one if your self-care wins?
  • How are you at setting boundaries?
  • How often do you place your needs first, second, third to others?

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Thank you to all my patrons for supporting this podcast. Whether you give $1 or $32 per month, your support is inspiring. I hope you feel good about supporting the free healing projects I share with others. If you’re not a patron, consider becoming one for as little as $1 per month at Patreon.com/Loviedo .

podcast

Episode. 3: I’m a Fat, Ugly Loser

Impower You

I challenge you to stop that thought right now. Go look in the mirror and tell yourself “I am not a loser. I am a unique, beautiful, imperfect being and that is the truth.”

This mini-podcast is about challenging how we perceive ourselves and changing our inner dialogue. I believed the worst about myself for years and it totally wrecked my life.

Listen to the podcast on Breaker.com

Mirror work isn’t some fluffy idea, it’s used in professional therapy. Here is a link to learn more about mirror work. “Because the mirror reflects back to you the feelings you have about yourself. It makes you immediately aware of where you are resisting and where you are open and flowing…” from Louisehay.com/what-is-mirror-work/

I hope this podcast is helpful. If you have a comment, write it below and I will respond when I’m online.

Thanks to all my patrons for supporting this podcast and all my creative projects. If you’re not a patron check out the rewards you receive when you join me at Patreon.com/Loviedo.

Peace and hugs, Leah

Art, D.I.Y. Therapy, Empowering Discussions, Journal Prompts

Surround Yourself With….

Impower You

Surround yourself with loving words, thoughts, and actions. Just like I surrounded this pine tree with protective pine cones.

– What do I need to do to feel loved and supported?

– Do I have loved ones who support me?

– If not, how can I support myself?

Self-care means diving deep into our mental, emotional, and physical health. You can do this with journaling, meditation, and creativity. Do what feels healthy. Set boundaries with your addictions. If you need extra help, reach out to a loved one or mentor. Don’t hide when you need loving support. Ask for it.

Trunk of pine tree surrounded by carefully laid out pine cones in a circular pattern by Leah Oviedo

Peace and hugs, Leah

Find me on Patreon.com/Loviedo and on Ko-fi.com/Loviedo.

 

D.I.Y. Therapy, Empowering Discussions

Journaling & Art Therapy Course – Try It Free

Impower You

I’ve updated my Dive Deeper course to include more art and journaling. Check it out if you want to expand your self-care & dive deeper into feeling balanced & loved. Try the first lesson for free: .

If you want to continue the 3 month course it’s $9 per month. If not, you won’t receive anything more from me, won’t be added to any lists, and your email address will not be saved.

Banner with words Dive Deeper Course, uncover the root of your depression or apathy.

podcast

Podcast: Ep. 1: Seven Self Discovery Questions

Impower You

In my recovery from depression, violence, grief and low self-worth I spent a lot of time relearning my truth. after a lifetime of self-hate, I finally love myself. Some days I’m amazed that I truly feel like a strong and wise person. I never expected that! So, as I share my journey I hope to inspire others to start their own healing journey.

I’ve started recording mini-podcasts about healing tools and resources that helped me. I’m excited to share these and plan to publish one per week.  My first podcast (below) is about seven questions that repeatedly came up during the first few years of my recovery. These helped me define how I felt about myself, how I wanted to feel and who I wanted to be. Defining myself was a game changer for me. After years of always being the victim, I felt incapable of creating a life I would actually love. But recovery turned me into my own heroine. If you listen to it, I’d love to hear from you.

Seven Self-Discovery Questions for Reconnecting with Your Truth

I’m an artist and writer with an interest in art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Journey E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other free creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.

D.I.Y. Therapy

Self-Care Win – What’s Yours?

Impower You

Self-care is the greatest idea, especially if you grew into a codependent adult like I did.  Wow has it been a struggle to place my needs first. It’s been one hell of a journey! These days, I succeed 90% of the time. 

For example: When a few of my friends moved away this summer, I was feeling sad and lonely. One of those friends didn’t say goodbye. I was hurt. For about two weeks I felt sorry for myself and wondered how soon I could make new friends. Then I remembered the quote “Just because you think you’re stuck, doesn’t mean you are.” (Coincidentally this was from a codependency group.) I meditated and set boundaries. I removed the phone number of the friend who didn’t feel the need to say goodbye and stopped following her on Instagram. The first week was rough. I wanted to reach out, but I knew that I had reached out enough. I knew deep in my bones that it was time to let them go on with their journey.

For the past two months, I haven’t feel codependent towards her or any of my friends. When I start feeling the need to reach out I look for other options, like going for a hike by myself, or stopping at a cafe for a drink and a book or language study session. It’s amazing because I never realized that I could feel this way. I didn’t know that I was codependent or that I needed to work on this issue, but I am feeling like a real winner about it.

What is one if your self-care wins?

How are you at setting boundaries?

How often do you place your needs first, second, third to others?

collage of hummingbird surrounded by

I’m an artist and writer with a focus on art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Journey E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other free creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.

Empowering Discussions

An Open Letter to the Outcasts and Trend Setters, Lovers and Haters, Wild and Tame

Impower You

Dear World,
You are such beautiful souls. Life can be rough and you may sometimes feel tired, unappreciated, alone or worthless, but you are never alone and you have worth. You are a squishy mess of bones and muscles just like everyone else. I want you to feel accepted and feel connected.


You are such beautiful souls. Life can be rough and you may sometimes feel tired, unappreciated, alone or worthless, but you are never alone and you have worth. You are a squishy mess of bones and muscles just like everyone else. I want you to feel accepted and feel connected.

Some people may be full of too much fear and be cruel toward you, but remember that is their reflection, not yours. Hopefully one day they can unlearn their hate and prejudice, but until then we must keep on our own path, live our own truth, be the change we want.

I accept who you love, your heritage, your beliefs, your hopes and dreams and fears and doubts. I want you to know that I will never judge you, use you or be cruel to you. Nobody deserves that. We all have our own paths to walk, our own riddles to solve. We have to do it our own way even if we don’t understand why.

Your smile makes me smile. Your kindness lifts me up. Your laughter brings me joy. You are unique and I love that about you. Sometimes you will teach new lessons to others. Sometimes others will teach you lessons. You will learn and unlearn so much in your lifetime. Allow that to happen. Don’t fight change. Use change to grow and expand your compassion and knowledge. We all need these changes because life is a journey and there is so much to learn and unlearn.

All the different languages you speak and places you are from, the different causes you stand up for and passions that give you that special spark, the work you do, the places you volunteer, the art you create, the shared belief that we can create a healthier world for EVERYONE; all of that from YOU gives me hope and a sense of belonging.

You makes life interesting, happy, worthwhile.

When you want to give up, remember that you are capable. You are stronger than you think. You matter and so do your dreams. Without you the word would be a different place. It wouldn’t be as rich. You are an integral part of this world.

Your voice and vision are important.

You will bend, but never break. You will hurt, but you can heal.

As long as your intentions are to support everyone and everything with love and acceptance the world needs you. We need more acceptance, not tolerance, but flat out acceptance that we are all different, but equal. We are all important and our individual journeys are equally important.

I’m so grateful for the diversity of our world, for those who never stop believing and for those who tried, but gave up. Thank you for being you. I hope you continue trusting your true self and exploring new paths on your journey.

If you’re still discovering who you are and feeling lost, than know that you will find it one day soon. I don’t know how or what form it will take, but you will. Look inside and listen to your voice, only your voice. Just keep trying, keep believing in yourself, respect yourself and know that you have a friend who believes in you, wants you to be happy, wants you to be healthy.

You matter. You always have and you always will.

I’m an artist and writer with a focus on art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other free creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.

Empowering Discussions

Join the Dive Deeper Self-Care Challenge

Impower You

The Dive Deeper Self Care Challenge has begun! This will be a time to dive into that all the stuff you’ve been avoiding, uncover the roots of your pain or why you’re stuck, and learn how to practice regular self-care for you and your situation. If I can bounce back from a 17 year depression, I believe in others abilities to heal their life. During the challenge, unwanted emotions will arise because that’s what happens when we don’t practice self care or heal our traumas. Trauma lingers withing us until we heal it.

I started this challenge for a few reasons. The first reason is through my own healing and recovery work I’ve learned the importance of regular self-care. Through recovery I have learned that when I didn’t practice often enough I began to feel the negative impact in my daily routine.

The second reason is that many of us hear this message that self-care is about feeling happy and doing anything to make that happen even if its not necessarily good for us, just so we can not feel pain. Things like spending money we don’t have in the instant gratification of retail therapy, or drinking and getting high with friends so we can forget our troubles, or gambling all our spending money on chance and expecting to WIN BIG someday. It could also be working 60 hours a week to earn more money and not focus on what makes us happy from the inside out. These become unhealthy when we don’t use moderation. But by forgetting or ignoring what causes us suffering we are intensifying our problems. This is not self care.

The third reason is to guide those who are desiring to transform their life. This is for you if you really, really, really want to be healthier and love yourself or because you’re sick and tired of being sick and tried. If that’s not enough reasons for you to practice self-care regularly, how about knowing that poor mental health can cause poor physical health and shorten your lifespan.

Are you ready to cultivate a sustainable self-care practice? Are you intrigued and want to learn more? Join me at https://impoweryou.org/divedeeper.

Want to share this with someone who is wanting more self-care in their life? Please do!

Peace and hugs, Leah

I’m an artist and writer with a focus on art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.

*You can receive art in the mail every month for only $12 a month.

Radical Magazine

Radical Peace: The May/June Issue

Impower You
 Summer is here and I am feeling rejuvenated. During my 8 months of traveling I realized that changes in my life and work were necessary. One of those changes was to improve Radical. I really want this zine to be successful in it’s mission of encouraging self-care practices and promoting independent artists. 
 The most obvious change is switching to a bi-monthly format. This will give me more time to promote the zine and increase the content. Thank you for reading Radical. I hope it inspires you to live your truth. The theme this issue is peace and includes work by Iris Orpi. You can download the new issue on my Patreon page.
 You can read past issues of Radical in the post area on Patreon.com/Loviedo, or on my blog: Impoweryou.org/radical.  You can also follow us on Facebook.com/radicalzine. Peace and hugs, Leah

I’m an artist and writer on a mission to bring healing arts into the mainstream. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.