You've probably heard the term "self-love" thrown around in wellness circles and maybe dismissed it as another New Age fad. But here's the truth: self-love isn't just some airy-fairy concept. It's a fundamental need backed by solid scientific evidence, crucial for both your mental and physical well-being.

The Neuroscience of Self-Love

Your brain is wired to respond positively to self-love. Research has identified a specific neural pathway, the frontostriatal pathway, as the area responsible for self-love and self-esteem. When this pathway is highly active, you experience strong feelings of self-acceptance and motivation. This isn't just feel-good psychology; it's hard neuroscience showing that self-love literally lights up your brain's reward centres.

Kind of like your own built in dopamine fix! But here’s the ‘sciency’ bit.

The frontostriatal pathway is a neural circuit connecting regions in the frontal lobe with the striatum. This pathway plays a crucial role in self-love and self-esteem, as identified by research from Dartmouth College. Specifically, when this pathway is highly active, individuals experience strong feelings of self-love and self-acceptance.

The frontostriatal circuit connects two important areas in the brain:

The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for self-knowledge, impulse control, reasoning, ethics, and empathy.

The ventral striatum, which is associated with motivation and reward processing.

This neural pathway is significant because it links cognitive control areas with reward-related regions, suggesting its involvement in regulating positive emotions and self-worth.

The connectivity between these regions, particularly the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (RVLPFC) and the ventral striatum (VS), has been associated with self-enhancement and the maintenance of positive self-views.

Furthermore, research has shown that the structural integrity of white matter pathways connecting the medial prefrontal cortex to the ventral striatum can predict changes in self-esteem over time. This indicates that the frontostriatal pathway not only reflects current levels of self-esteem but may also influence its development and stability in the long term.

So there! Not ‘woo woo’ by any stretch of the imagination, I’d say.

A very good question indeed! Here’s 4 darned good reasons why. When this pathway is active and strong:

1. You feel good about yourself

When you practice self-love, you cultivate a sense of self-worth and emotional balance. This means you’re less likely to engage in negative self-talk and more likely to appreciate your strengths and accomplishments. Feeling good about yourself doesn’t just boost your mood—it creates a foundation for healthier relationships and a more positive outlook on life.

2. You're more motivated

Self-love fosters intrinsic motivation by helping you believe in your abilities and worthiness to succeed. When you value yourself, you’re more likely to set meaningful goals and pursue them with determination. It also apparently reduces procrastination because you’re driven by self-compassion rather than fear of failure. So think about that next time you're procrastinating, and see if you can make a connection to self-love. Interesting one, isn't it?

3. You make better decisions

When you love yourself, you’re less likely to make decisions out of fear, guilt, or external pressures. Instead, you trust your instincts and align your choices with your values and long-term well-being. This clarity allows for more thoughtful decision-making, even in challenging situations

4. You're more resilient to stress and setbacks

Self-love equips you with the emotional tools to bounce back from adversity. By practicing self-compassion, you can reframe failures as opportunities for growth rather than sources of shame or self-criticism. This resilience helps you maintain mental stability even during tough times

And who couldn’t use more of all of those? I’m sure we’ll all raise our hands for them!

But there’s more. 5 more benefits I want to share with you.