cm.Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13 978-0-471-72567-1 (cloth)ISBN-10 0-471-72567-6 (cloth)Mental health. 2. Self-esteem. 3. Self-care, Health. 4. Psychology, Pathological. I. Title. RA790.E555 2006158.1—dc22Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1This book is dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the tsunami in December 2004 and to all the people who worried about me while I was in India.The experience taught me a valuable lesson and reminded me of how many people love me—a lesson those of us who were abused continually need to relearn.ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1Part One How Your Parents Shape Your Self-Esteem, Self-Image, and Body ImageOur Parents as Mirrors 9The Seven Types of Negative Parental Mirrors 29Your Body as a Mirror 63How Mirror Therapy Works 77Part Tw oShattering Your Distorted Parental MirrorRejecting Your Parents’ Negative Reflection 87Emotionally Separating from Your Parents 104Quieting and Countering Your Inner Critic 117Part Three Creating a New MirrorLooking Deeper into the Mirror:Discovering the Real You 139viiviii CONTENTS Providing for Yourself What You Missed as a Child 156Learning to Love Your Body 175Part Four Specialized HelpIf You Were Neglected, Rejected, or Abandoned: Healing the “I Am Unlovable”
What do You think about Healing Your Emotional Self?
