This is self-work, and I'm Dr. Margaret Rutherford.

At self-work, we discuss psychological and emotional issues and what you can do about them,

whether that's learning self-acceptance, taking action, or seeking therapy or treatment.

Eight years ago, I extended the walls of my practice to reach those of you who might already be knowledgeable about middle

health treatment, but also to those of you who might say, you'd never darken the door of a therapist.

And yet, you are here. I'll answer your questions while I invite you to take a few minutes for your

own self-work. There is such a thing as what's termed healthy narcissism, which may actually

be another term for a high sense of self-agency, a belief in yourself that's strong enough

for you to take risks that others might not take,

or assume a role like a surgeon or a broker, or for that matter, a therapist,

especially one who has a podcast, where others are counting on your skill and expertise in the field you're in.

Welcome to this week's edition of Self-Work.

Maybe because I'm writing this on Easter Sunday, maybe because I'm trying to find my way through all of the negative and at times frightening rhetoric of what's happening

in the United States and the world, maybe because I believe for a long time that the best thing

to do is to look for what you have control over. So for all those reasons, I'm going to be focusing

today on finding emotional stability and calm through self-love, not narcissism, not grandiosity

or some kind of over-the-top shouting to the world about how great you are, but what exactly

self-love is and what it can lead to. That's what we're going to talk about.

Even though we live in a world that repeatedly suggests that you can't be happy or feel

valuable if you don't have a partner or followers or live in a certain neighborhood or wear

certain clothes or be thin or countless other things that we're supposed to chase to prove our worth.

If you love yourself, that's internal.

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