Stephanie E. Hernandez, LCSW

Next time you and your significant other have an argument/fight try this...Self-Awareness, Accountability and Effective Communication are key in relationships. Remember it's you and your partner versus the problem. It's not you versus your partner. #MentalHealth #Relationships #Communication

Phrasing is important. What we say to ourselves internally and externally along with what we say to others can be extremely impactful. I challenge you all to try this the next time you have the urge to say sorry. #SelfAwareness #Growth #Communication

Too often we think we have to start with something big... go to the gym for 45 minutes, read multiple chapters of a book, clean the entire house and so on. And if we do not accomplish those tasks we beat ourselves up and lose motivation. Try making five very small tasks to do a day. Instead of saying you will go to the gym if you haven’t been in months, say you’ll do 5 squats. Make the goals very small and realistic so you can easily convince and push yourself to do it. If you do more, great and if not then you will still have accomplished what you set out to do. Criticizing ourselves doesn’t help us grow, it only hinders us. Be kind and set small attainable goals. Start today. Start now. #MentalHealth #Goals #Attainable #Success

Self compassion is essential for a healthy and satisfying life. Self-compassion and self-pity are not the same thing. Too often I hear clients say self-compassion will keep them stagnant and stunt their growth. Research has shown that self-hate and negative self-talk hinder our abilities to grow. When we are compassionate and kind to ourselves we allow ourselves to reach our true potential. I challenge you all to pay attention to how often you are negative towards yourself, how often you are not forgiving or compassionate. #MentalHealth #SelfCompassion #Growth

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle #DailyPractice #ChoosingSelfLove #MakingEffort #NotGivingUp #BeingConsistent #TakingBabySteps #WeOnlyFailWhenWeStopTrying #FallEightTimesGetUpNine

We live in a world where we are taught to criticize ourselves and others. We are taught to be, "perfect" and taught to believe that being kind to ourselves means we are condoning our flaws or unhealthy behavior... However, tough love only intensifies the negative self talk and cycle of self inflicted verbal abuse we put ourselves through. You can be kind to yourself, love yourself and still work on growing. I have found that the more we love ourselves and forgive ourselves, the more motivation and ability we have to gently make appropriate changes. Let's break the cycle of verbal abuse, negative self talk and self hate. #MentalHealth #BeKind #LoveYourself #BeConfident