An unhealthy ego is at the root of many of our emotional challenges, including our addictions and mental health issues. When our ego, or sense of self, is wounded from trauma, we often struggle to understand our feelings or manage them in healthy ways. We create a poor self-image for ourselves, and our self-perception is often full of self-judgment and criticism. We suffer from depression, anxiety, insecurity and lack of confidence. We use our addictions to try to feel better about ourselves and to cope with our emotional pain. Many of us can identify with having a wounded, imbalanced ego. What does having a healthy ego look like?

A person with a healthy sense of self feels confident and self-assured, without the fear of inadequacy and inferiority that can make us feel threatened by other people. When we fear abandonment and rejection, we care too much what other people think and put other people down in an attempt to feel better about ourselves. When we have a healthy ego on the other hand, we uplift both ourselves and others naturally, knowing that as we encourage other people’s light to shine, we illuminate our own. We don’t knock ourselves down with harsh judgment. We forgive ourselves for our mistakes. We accept our flaws and strive for progress, not perfection. We remember that our shortcomings, even our regrets, are part of what make us who we are, and how we transcend them is one of our spiritual tests in this lifetime.

When we have a healthy ego, we don’t misdirect our precious energy to berating ourselves, disparaging, demeaning or devaluing ourselves. We know our worth. We feel deserving. We know that we’re more than good enough. We don’t settle for less than we’re worth. We feel stable, secure, fully grounded and completely centered, in who we are, in our purpose, in our truth. We aren’t running from ourselves, from our thoughts or from our emotional pain, so we don’t need to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms to feel better about ourselves. We generate our own happiness internally and feel fulfilled from living our purpose and doing the things we love. We value ourselves in relationships and choose partners who value us. We appreciate, respect and accept ourselves. We work to develop our self-love, and we make time for self-care, personal development, healing and spiritual practice.

Healing from addiction and mental health issues requires that we develop a healthy sense of self. Without doing so, we may always be susceptible to using unhealthy coping mechanisms to handle our difficult emotions. Recovery means building our self-love and working to have a balanced ego.

At Bayview Recovery, we help you recover and find your joy again. Call us today for more information on our comprehensive and effective treatment programs: 888-570-7154.