Taking care of the people we love is an essential part of any healthy and loving relationship; but if you are giving too much of yourself away to the point of self-sacrifice, then there is only one way it will end: misery, depletion, and loss of self or purpose. Knowing when to be there for the people that you love and giving of yourself shows great strength of character. But that gesture should not be reserved solely for other people. Important too is that you know when it is time to take care of YOU. If you are sacrificing yourself for the sake of others all of the time (because let’s face it, we all must sacrifice from time to time), then your nature to give has become more like an addiction to martyrdom and self-destruction.
- You feel completely depleted and hopeless by everyday tasks – this is a big one. Often times when we give so much of ourselves, we become so burdened by everything that simple everyday tasks such as doing the dishes become overwhelming. This is because when you give so much of yourself away to others, there is no energy left to use to recharge your own spirit.
- The people around you are dysfunctional without your help – when you have enabled the people you love to the point where they are completely dysfunctional without you, that is not healthy for you or for them. And it’s also a sure sign that you give far too much of yourself away to others when they should be giving fully back to you.
- You feel severe emotions of guilt and remorse when you are doing something for yourself instead of for others-if you feel guilty for doing something for yourself, this is a sign that you have been giving too much of yourself away for far too long. In fact, it has been so long that you forgot how it felt. It may feel wrong, but that’s only because it’s a new sensation.
- You care far too much about what other people think of you- You are so afraid of disappointing other people or being thought of in a negative way that you are willing to sacrifice your own happiness for the happiness of others. The truth is it doesn’t matter what other people think of you If you know that in your heart you are a good person. You should matter to you as much as other people do.
- People tell you that you need to take care of yourself- Most of us will have people in our lives that see through the illusion. They care enough about us that they will point out to you that you sacrifice yourself. These are the true friends in your life and they would not be saying this if they weren’t worried about you.
You are a caring person and it is easy to get swept away by others. You want to help and do everything for them that you can. You may even be a sensitive person and care beyond expression. You might even sacrifice too much to make others happy. There are a few important facts to keep in mind here. For one, if you are enabling someone and making them co-dependent upon you, you are actually not being helpful to them at all. In fact, you are being quite harmful. Second, if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be good for anybody else in the end. Remember, true love does not start with them, it starts with YOU.
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