Well, I do think the whole "love yourself" thing is kind of... heavily American and Western. I mean, do you actually suffer from low self esteem? I don't think being lonely, and wishing you had a permanent partner, is necessarily a sign that there's something wrong with your self esteem. It's pretty normal.

If you do find yourself, like, grinding yourself down with an interior monologue of bullshit, that's a different thing. I did finally cave and get a therapist this last year. It was long overdue. (Personally, I don't hate myself but I do love dope so...) Having a neutral third party rooting for you, is not a bad thing at all!

IDK. Small steps are super helpful. Today, I will make dinner. I won't shoot dope. I will do my makeup. I will paint. I will read. You know? If there isn't something your passionate about, try new stuff. Take a life drawing class. Knit. Hike. Whatever will push your comfort zone a little and get you outside your head!

All the people I know that really, genuinely think they are the Best Things Ever, are scary. Narcissists, sociopaths. The happy medium of not torturing yourself with an inner monologue of "you're so boring, so ugly" etc., is kind of a normal happy medium. If that is a problem, do try a therapist. But otherwise just carrying on with life, treating yourself like you would treat a friend (don't stick with people that treat you like shit, do try new things) is about the best any of us can do. I think.