"I was tired of listening to my harshest critic, the little voice in my head, so I became more KIND to myself." -Member of myHIVteam

You may judge yourself and others every day without realizing it. Like many members of myHIVteam have found, living with HIV is an exercise in frustrating moments. You may blame yourself when you look in the mirror, when you experience stigma from others, or when you struggle with self-acceptance. The problem is when you let these internal judgments shape belief in yourself.

Here are recent conversations from members on myHIVteam:

"Going through suffering helps me to grow in self-acceptance, compassion, and understanding to try to love oneself, and try to learn to be okay when it's not such a good day. It like the suffering you go through helps you to cope with the bad days! We learn there is more to life than ourselves."

"Every day is a work in progress. Patiently waiting for the ashes to settle and for the Phoenix to finally rise. Depression, alienation, and loneliness are a daily feeling but I cannot let that keep me down. The "me," I'm working on now will be stronger and greater than I've ever been in my life. I cannot wait to meet him!"

"So today, I promised myself to stop being so hard on myself. It's funny how we get mad at people for being hard on themselves but we are even harder on ourselves. Today, I congratulated myself for just being me and made sure I kept a smile of humbleness on my face all day because life is good!"

Experts in mindfulness and self-care recommend pausing a moment when you find you're judging yourself. Be aware of those judgments. Ask yourself where this is coming from. Use the moment to be gentle and compassionate with yourself.

Do you recall a time when you were particularly critical of yourself? What are you doing to show yourself kindness in those moments? Share in the comments below or directly on myHIVteam.