Well PEM... Let's say you busted your ass on a project for work. Validation would be your boss saying. "Excellent work, glad I picked you for this, you have done yourself, me, and the company well."

That feeling of pride, being worth something.

Validation is acknowledgement of when a personal boundary is crossed by a person and they admit to crossing it instead of blaming you for putting that boundary there where they think it did not belong.

I'm validating you right now. Feel it? FEEL IT? DO YOU FEEL IT? You are fabulous!

I think that's accountability for your actions Faithful, not validation.

To me, in the context of DS, validation is when you tell your story, or describe and event and your reaction to it and people agree with you, or tell you you did the right thing.

Example:

You were justified in divorcing the verbal abuser PEM.

"an event"

Or it could be what Z just did to you!

Well I guess I am VALIDATED..... there was a time that my self worth wasn't worth much.... but the longer I am away from the daily negativity I find that I have worth I have value I have purpose.... and life is SWEET........ thank you Zbot......

it's a stamp on your ass

I thought that was just a festered hair on my ass......... my kid, co-workers and all of you have let me know that the cat ain't all bad..... THX

Faithful

that can be an incredibly powerful form of validation for anyone who is the victim of crime, OR any other bad choices.

I think it would be a beautiful thing if we all felt so solid in ourselves that we didn't need outside validation. Its been my experience though, that at the lowest times in life, particularly when you're feeling it hard to drag your butt through another day of recovery, someone else taking the time to ask how you are, offer some support, or kindness makes it clear you matter, you're seen, you're heard, you aren't invisible.

Also a powerful balm.

Its been getting pretty bad for many people here and elsewhere lately. I think when we face the hardest times of our lives, and we DO keep going on for another day until we get through to the other side, we're validating ourselves that we ARE worth the effort, the patience, the faith that we can make it.

just thinking too

self-validation = feeling/knowing what is true and valid about you especially when other people try to INvalidate you

knowing yourself
knowing your worth
knowing you belong here as much as anyone

It means to recognize/affirm a person's experience.