SELF-CARE FOR YOU!

Updated: May 30

SELF-CARE IS NOT SELFISH

(FREE WORKSHEET INCLUDED)

Self-care appears to be misunderstood. It can be going to get a massage, getting your nails done, or treating yourself to your favorite meal or dessert. However, self-care means taking the time to do things that help us live well and improve both our physical and mental health. When it comes to our mental health, self-care can help us manage stress, manage emotions, and increase energy.

Therefore, self-care to one may not be self-care to another. Self-care can be as simple as deep breathing or box breathing, taking your daily vitamins, alone-time, social time, volunteering, communicating in a way the person can listen to avoid an argument, planning ahead, or an evening meditation-podcast to get to sleep faster.

Imagine you have an internal gauge or thermometer of 1-10 and you like to keep it 4-6. If you’re a little more stressed maybe you’re at a 7. If you’re at an 8 maybe you have a short fuse and take notice. If you’re at a 9 maybe you'r sleep is off and you’re really forgetful and more unorganized. If you get to a 10 maybe you get sick. What could you have done at the 7 or the 8 to get a breath to bring yourself down? Did you use mindfulness and notice your gauge was rising?

We can only function on overdrive for so long until we burn out. It’s like they say on the airplane, “Put on your oxygen mask before you put on your child’s because if you do theirs first, you may pass out before getting a chance to put yours on. At least if the child passes out the oxygen will quickly bring them back.” This is why self-care is not selfish. If we don’t take care of ourselves, we not only hurt ourselves but we also hurt everyone around us. We can only do so much outside of ourselves for others and then we need to tend to ourselves. Sometimes we need to start self-care by guilting ourselves into it to not hurt those we care about and that’s ok for a start.

Spring time can be really busy and throw us off our game with all the adjustments. It’s also a great time to assess where we are and things we may want to look at within ourselves to grow, be happier and/or be healthier. Hence, find your gauge, develop it and be mindful of your gauge.

I took time for myself the last week in March when my family was on their spring break. My family and I enjoyed quiet time in the country outside of Galena, IL. We took in a super funny and entertaining magic show while in town (https://www.ptmurphy.com/), did some shopping and I sampled some delicious fudge. We went for a walk with the dogs and listened to the birds while feeling the warm sunshine on our faces. We also sat next to the campfire and roasted marshmallows for s’mores before dinner so it wasn’t too cold.

What does your self-care look like? Print out the worksheets below. This is an opportunity for you to take a look at what you’re already doing that’s working and potential changes you’d like to make in your life pertaining to self-care. Print both these self-care wheels to get you started.