March 5, 2022 "I NEED my SELFCARE"
This morning I read a book that had me flashback through a myriad of emotions.
Do you give much time to yourself? What does ‘me time’ mean to you or do you even set aside ‘me time’? The definition of self-care is the practice of taking care of one’s well-being and happiness especially during times of stress.
One of my client’s wrote in their daily meal plan book - “I have a lot on my plate; doing for me is what I should be able to do. I’m learning that everyone don’t think you should take/make time for self-care when they aren’t the “SELF”!
I know this mentality all too well. When I was working 12 hour shifts in level one trauma centers; staff, patients and patient family members would bully me when it was time for me to take my lunch break. They expected me to run myself ragged and then stay over for a 16-hour shift.
Working night shift was no better because friends and family would disrespect my sleep time and try to make me feel bad for sleeping during most people’s waking hours.
They would call me repeatedly, plan outings during those times and be mad because I didn’t show up.
It took me a while to learn that it’s okay to say NO! That No is a complete sentence. And that I don’t have to explain to anyone why I’m putting me first. I also had to learn to set boundaries because I’m a nurturer by nature and I’m always wanting and willing to help others, many times at a cost to my self-care. I learned to cut off my phone and be okay with missed calls.
When I finally did set boundaries and was proud to say NO, I lost some people and I learned to be okay with that too.
Many of us are good at thinking about the well-being of others, but not about our own well-being until it’s too late and we are sick or burnt out. Self-care means taking responsibility for yourself to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle at work and in your personal world through individually determined, proactive activities.
To create an individualized self-care, plan you need to recognize the presence of stress in your life and how it affects you. If you are experiencing any of these; fatigue, depression, procrastination, impatience and short temper, muscle tension, feeling overworked and lack of productivity, you may be stressed. If you are experiencing many of them, you are highly stressed. You need to identify your stressors i.e., too much to do, personal health issues, lack of time or support, money problems work pressure and then figure out how you deal with stress. There are healthy ways to deal with stress and unhealthy ways.
Healthy Strategies (self-care)
Being physically active
Eating healthy food
Practicing meditation/yoga
Making time for fun
Seeing a counselor
Unhealthy Strategies
Living a sedentary lifestyle
Overeating
Smoking/drinking
Isolating yourself
Take the time to create an individualized self-care plan eliminating unhealthy strategies and habits. Strive to replace each unhealthy strategy with a healthy reflecting your personal choices. One great healthy choice is to spend time with people who energize you and inspire you, TFC can be that place for you, because we strive to inspire and when you walk in the door you feel the energy almost immediately.
For anyone that is being challenged with these types of issues, put on your Self Care (SC) Cape, stand strong and say, “I deserve to put myself first even if no one understands why”. You will soon develop a No Mess mentality that puts one’s health and wellness first. No Mess
