Being self aware is so so important. I reckon you have a duty to know yourself better than anyone else knows you; it can help put your life in perspective and ensure you know your worth. You should never have your identity dictated to you by anyone - the best version of you is you, however you define yourself. And I really think that is a beautiful truth. In fact, it could be considered beauty in one of its purest forms. For most people, being 100% comfortable in yourself is an uphill struggle. We all have flaws and we're usually our own worst critics. You can learn to love yourself by first discovering these 'flaws' and learning about how your brain works and then by either overcoming them or working with them.
Loving yourself is incredibly important but it all comes back to self awareness.
I've learnt so much about myself and how I react to and deal with obstacles over the last 10 or so months and one thing that has helped me achieve this is a free app called Stigma. The app involves describing how you're feeling in up to 400 characters (1000 in pro) including coded tags which enable the app to graph your mood over the week/month/year etc. I actually find this to be the most useful feature as it allows you to observe even the most infinitesimal improvement which can be pretty motivational. It can also be helpful to identify trends in the data so you can become more aware of when you feel certain emotions. There is an option to share your entries among friends or anonymously with the Stigma community where users can 'heart' your entry, it's nice to remember that you're not alone. There has also been a relatively recent addition of the 'PenPals' feature which requires you to set up a bio and, in theory, allows you to connect with likeminded people and chat, providing support if/when needed. I experienced major problems with this feature which rendered it completely useless. The app was recently updated (just when I thought I was ready to publish this post...) and the feature greatly improved. It's still a little buggy and there are definite further improvements to be made but I like the idea and believe it has great potential.
In a nutshell, I love Stigma because it's quick, easy to use and it really does help. Using the app forces me to be self aware and helps me identify what I'm feeling and perhaps why I'm feeling that way. Furthermore, as a relatively analytical maths nerd, seeing my emotions on a graph really floats my boat...
