This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Cal Poly chapter.
Sometimes being a friend means you are the go-to therapist. You are the person people turn to in times of crisis, and, if you’re lucky, times of pure happiness. You find yourself dishing out advice on every type of situation, almost becoming the cheerleader for your friends’ success.
As great as it is to see your friends overcome the obstacles in their life with the help of your advice, it can be hard to actually follow the advice for yourself.
Even if you are the first person to offer encouraging words to the people around you, accepting the words for yourself is an entirely different story. Here are a few pieces of advice we always give to our friends, yet never take for ourselves.
“Make sure you’re eating enough, and drinking lots of water.”
Urging your friends to have a healthy diet with the proper amount of water intake every day is one of the most common pieces of advice we give. As we all know, being in a college is extremely time-consuming, and we often find ourselves skipping meals, or binge-eating chocolate while studying for the next big test.
“Don’t cry over your ex, you are much better off without him/her.”
We can all relate to giving a friend that post-breakup pep talk, and we have probably all been on the receiving end as well. Following this advice and not being upset over a break up is almost impossible, but what’s wrong with shedding a few tears before moving on anyways?
“Life’s not a competition, stop comparing yourself to others.”
Even though we want our friends to realize they are unique in every way, it can be tricky to break the habit for ourselves. Sometimes we push ourselves by comparing our achievements to others’, even though we should really be focusing on our own successes instead.
“Don’t overthink everything!”
As much as we encourage our friends to let go of their insecurities and to stop thinking about the little worries in life, we find ourselves doing this way too often.
“Procrastinating won’t get you anywhere.”
Really, is it best to wait until the night before to start that big project you have been putting off all quarter? It happens to the best of us, even when we know we should have started the day we found out about the assignment.
“Just tell them how you feel!”
Admitting your feelings to someone can make you feel vulnerable, which is often why we avoid doing it. If you can encourage your friends to talk about their feelings, what’s holding you back from doing the same?
“Never doubt that you are good enough.”
This is the biggest piece of advice everyone absolutely needs to follow; yet it seems to be the toughest one to actually follow through with. You would never want your friend to doubt whether they are good enough, so why should you doubt yourself?
Sometimes you have to be your own therapist, and follow your own advice.