Tips and Strategies

**important to recognize eating disorders, self harm and more serious concerns, stress the importance of seeking help.**
*** Regardless the topic I believe its important to stress that these are long term practices! Consistency and commitment are what build strong habits and eventually, life styles.
 

    1. Developing sincere self love and respect: Many girls struggle with their body image and self confidence. Society and culture around us has become the definer for what is and isn’t beautiful.
      1. Knowing you’re not alone; all shapes and sizes struggle with loving their bodies
      2. Being body positive: towards yourself and your fellow sisters!
      3. How to invest in your own being, through taking time to take care of yourself and letting go of negativity: start unlocking and recognizing your inner value.
      4. How to digest situations where we feel objectified or disrespected .
    2. Overcoming Loneliness: 
      Many girls, especially in HS have a period where they feel many voids in their hearts. A big void can be loneliness and the strong desire to love and be loved. There are usually 2 types of loners: those who then isolate themselves, and those who seek love in the wrong places. I think both are important to talk about.
       
    3. For those who isolate:

 

 

      1. -Being aware of our emotional roller coasters and not getting too stressed over them. Knowing how to combat them!
      2. -How to push yourself to not become a victim to your lonesome and instead become a victor through giving and connecting with others.
      3. – Acknowledging the difference between being cut out and cutting yourself out.
      4. -How to let people into our lives/ opening up to support.

 

  1. For those who seek love through guys/bad environments:

 

      1. -pUrIty, putting the U before the I. The best way we can care for the opposite gender is through saving ours and their purity.  
      2. – Identify the standard you want to keep, and be serious even in ‘unserious’ situations. What your vision is for yourself?
      3. – Being aware of peer pressure// find a concrete reason why dating is negative
      4. -Self honesty- can I really love this person, am I being selfish ? Am i helping or hurting their heart in the long run?
      5. – You CAN ALWAYS work back to your standard.  
      6. -How we can really feel empowered through our singlehood, the period of life where we can truly focus on developing ourselves to be strong independent daughters of God.
      7. -Great to establish a good support group/ book club! : I kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris is a great book we read with our HS girls.
    2. Pornography
      1. -In the media/everywhere can find it accidentally: know what kind of literature, movies and music you’re consuming.
      2. -Removing the taboo, we should be able to talk about this
      3. -Learning the different experiences for girls and guys: being aware of the potential struggles.
      4. -Masturbation: strongly linked to shame. how to overcome the habit, and let go of shame.
      5. Accountability, it’s not something you can break alone (look above for additional resources)

 

  • Questioning your faith:

 

    1. -To get the real answers, we need to ask the right questions. How to have a productive approach toward your questioning.
    2. -Recognizing your own labels, concepts and resistances- finding the root causes to your doubts,
    3. -How to take ownership of your faith making it unique and something you want to stand for
    4. -When you’re in a very low place don’t make big decisions. “Don’t doubt in the dark what god has shown you in the light”.

– Recognizing the things which are good and the things which need to improvement.

Manish Saluja