Compassion and Self-care: Where to start

Jen Pfeifler LD, M.s. | Updated January 2025

#eatingdisorderrecovery #selfcare #bodylove #compassion #5lovelanguages #healthiswealth #treatyourself

Developing a strong relationship is often discussed in the context of a relationship with a significant other. There are all kinds of dating books, personality and compatibility quizzes and now the most talked about- The 5 love languages. But what about developing a strong relationship with yourself? And why is a nutritionist/dietitian writing a blog about it?

To answer the above: It is important to nurture the relationship with yourself for sooo many reasons. The angle I will talk to is the relationship with food and how it is cultivated over time starting at a very young age. Think back to when you were just a whipper snapper eating at the dinner table with your family…or maybe not. Maybe eating began as just an act of survival from not having a supportive family or lack of money. Maybe eating was a chore due to lack of pleasure or sensory concerns such as texture or smell being overwhelming. Now think about the things you overheard your parents, guardian, peers, friends and ones you admired say about food and their body in the same context. Get where I’m heading with this?

Our eating behaviors and the relationship with ourselves and with food are all interconnected and have started being transformed in a way that's positive, negative, or just neutral from about the age of 5. Crazy right?

If you had a negative experience with food and the associations you overheard such as weight = worth, or fatness = ugly or skinny = health, it is totally valid why your relationship with food and your own body has taken a hit. Although these associations are repeated in diet culture and possibly from our upbringing they are not true. Valid, but false, to put it simply.

Often in session, we talk about starting the self-care process in other ways than giving yourself permission to eat fear foods as that is hard to do in the beginning- which finally brings me to the 5 love languages and starting out with trying these instead. Think about how you want to receive love and try 1-2 of the examples in that category. Ready to start healing your relationship with food and yourself along the way? Ready when you are!

Book a clarity call now at 850 380 6657 or email with a question anytime jen@justlovepears.com