People who tell us to practice self-care often tell us to learn to love ourselves; but to be honest, they don't mean it literally. Oh sure, it's good to take the time out to boost your own self-esteem. But I think people would draw the line at having a relationship with themselves, or even marrying themselves to nurture their own ego.
But as it turns out, one person actually has taken this advice to heart, and has gotten engaged and married to herself. Yoga teacher Mickie Monroe decided that it was time to tackle her self-confidence issues the only way she knew how: by buying herself a $56 ring and saying "I do" to her own reflection at a beautiful beachside wedding ceremony.
Yogi Mickie Monroe, who hails from Australia’s Gold Coast, was inspired to go through with the unorthodox service after struggling to cope with her body image issues. She was overweight for much of her adult life, and also drank heavily to cope with her low self esteem. However, she managed to turn her life around and embrace a healthier lifestyle, after she had an epiphany about her outlook: she was her own worst enemy; bullying herself and putting herself down, which made self-improvement impossible.
Things changed when she met EJ Love - a former escort who had become a relationship guru - in February 2017, who convinced her to throw self-marriage ceremony on Valentine’s Day to prove that she wasn't going to put herself down any longer. Although some negative reactions when she revealed that she married herself, once she explains the reasoning behind it most people come round.
Commenting on her unusual nuptials, Mickie stated: "Before my ceremony, I was going through a hard time. I was in the throes of very bad depression, and didn’t know how to silence those negative thoughts – self-care isn’t exactly something they teach in school. But now I’ve promised to commit to and love both the good and bad parts of me. I’ve stopped waiting around for perfection because it’s never going to happen."
She added: "I take much better care of myself now – there’s no more putting off things until tomorrow, or agreeing to do things I don’t want to do for fear of annoying someone. I understand I may potentially be ridiculed for loving myself but I’m okay with that. I don’t seek validation from other people anymore. And if reading about me can help one other person out there who is struggling to accept themselves, then I’ll be happy."
So maybe marrying yourself is a little outside-the-box, but hey: if it means that people are learning to like themselves a little more, and it's helping them cope with their depression, then who is it hurting? I can imagine that her marriage to herself will be a happier one than most.
