Alex Camire, LCSW

Some days are easier,

Some days are more difficult,

Some days will be a mix of both.

But try, do try to make a habit, even if it’s only for a moment, of showing yourself some love.

Love yourself, value yourself, appreciate yourself…

The things you’ve gone through, experienced, the difficult journey, the times you made mistakes, everything!

External validation sure feels nice when it comes, but it has to come from within you too.

Because - and yes, I’m quoting RuPaul here, but - “if you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else!?”

Also, look at the sleepy ginger!

Therapists have therapists…

And I started seeing a new one recently because sometimes clinical supervision isn’t enough.

I’ve been exploring internal family systems (IFS) and yesterday I started exploring my own parts, and I had a brief conversation with my inner critic, but not just at any point- but my inner critic from 2012 when I was a much different person than who I am today.

It was a harsh feeling, but one that reminded me of transformation.

Sometimes it’s easier to hold a specific image of yourself on a pedestal. It’s easier to value the parts of yourself that you like or believe in over the parts that have let you down.

But every part of you has value, every part has worth.

Your critical parts, your naive parts, your cringe (I can’t believe I used to think or act that way) parts, you’re fearful parts, and even the parts that you don’t know how to label yet.

Transformation and growth isn’t about distancing ourselves from who we used to be when we didn’t know any better. Or at least it shouldn’t be.
It’s about being able to look back on ourselves with compassion and trust our whole selves as we continue to move through the world around us.

I’ve been wanting to share this.
It came in the mail while I was on a trip to Ohio last weekend.
And it’s beautiful!

Life changes happen so fast sometimes- it’s easy to get lost or at least to feel lost.

This piece was titled, “I need to find myself first,” and it was done by who I have admired for a while.

I never wanted a career when I think about it. What I really wanted to be when I was younger was a pastor myself. I didn’t want a career, I wanted a calling!

I can chuckle about it now, but it was something I took very seriously as a young Christian who grew up in an overzealous, cult-like church.

I started a journey ten years ago to become a therapist with the intention that this would be a good “supplemental career” that would aid my ability to minister to the world one day. Lol

But over the course of my academic journey one too many things happened:
My parents divorced, and my family got torn apart a bit.
My own marriage was rife with toxicity and neglect and eventually led to my own divorce.
Not to mention my beliefs about faith, religion, sexuality, politics, how to help others - everything was changing!

By the time I finished school I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a Christian anymore let alone a pastor. And by that time I’d already left the church as a failed institution behind.

So I know exactly what it’s like to feel lost after everything you believe in- your entire epistemology gets turned upside down.

And I’ve felt lost a lot since finishing grad school in 2020 during the onset of a global pandemic.

But I’m finding myself!
Every day I find more of myself!

And recently I left a job I had for almost 13 years after feeling like I’d been stuck for too long.

And today I am the therapist I sought out to be! And I’m proud that I was able to get here.

The journey isn’t over. But I know that if I get lost, it’s myself I need to find first.

Thank you for your work, I value it so much. ❤️ I plan on hanging your painting in my therapy office for all future clients to see once I frame it!