Tag: take care of yourself

What is Self Care?

Have you heard about self care? What do you think self care is? Do you practice self care? From a lot that I read many people believe that self care is all about going to the spa, taking baths and generally pampering yourself.

I believe that is part of self care but self care is so much more. Self care is setting yourself up to take the best care of yourself. It is meal prepping so that you have healthy food to eat throughout the week. It is cleaning your house weekly so that you can feel comfortable. It is exercising even when you don’t feel like it because you know it will help you feel better. Self care is doing the hard things that you may not want to do so that you can feel better.

How did self care get so twisted around? I think it is because when people think about taking care of themselves they think of the nice things that feel good to do. Meal prepping isn’t fun but having healthy food ready for the week sets you up for success. Eating good food consistently will also help you feel better more often.

Self care is also learning what experiences or people will trigger you to feel off. When you know what may set you off you are better able to make a plan to deal with those triggers. I recently had an experience that in the past would have put me in a tailspin. Because I have been working to strengthen and understand myself I didn’t react like I would have in the past. This is part of self care.

I will never pass up a spa day but I am not going to put off taking care of myself today. Self care is more about creating a life you love. What do you consider self care that someone may not have thought of?

Shame, shame, shame

I asked my 12 year old son the other day what I should write about. He said, “Tell people that it is ok to get help. There isn’t any shame in getting help if you have anxiety.” Out of the mouth of babes. (well Tweens)

It is so true. We put so much pressure on ourselves to just be ok. To not ask for help and to do everything perfectly. We feel shame because we suffer from a mental disorder. When we didn’t ask for it or create it. Why is there shame in having a mental disorder but not a physical disorder?  We need to remember that mental disorders are biological not something we choose or caused.

That is why I started this blog, to help fight against the stigma surrounding mental health. To show that you can live an incredible, awesome life even with anxiety and depression. To talk about taking medication and going to therapy and just plain talking about mental health.

I have felt like I have been looked down on because I take medication. Because I wasn’t able to just pull myself up. It bothered me for a little while but then I reminded myself that they don’t live my life. They don’t know what it was like when I wasn’t on medication. They don’t know what my family life was like back then versus how it is now. They don’t know how grateful I am that most of the time I function just like everyone else.

I don’t want to go back to those days where I barely functioned so I take medication. I don’t want to go back to those dark days so when I feel myself falling back down there I go to a counselor. I find ways to deal constructively with the thoughts in my head.

I have also been taking a class to get certified as a life coach. To be honest I wish I had found a coach when I was going through the worst of the anxiety. The tools and ideas I have been learning are life changing. I am so excited to be able to help other people get out of the downward spiral even faster.

As my son said, “it is ok to get help there isn’t any shame in having a mental disorder.” Please just take care of yourself.

Oxygen really is vital to life

I had an interesting experience last week. On Wednesday evening I was exhausted but it was worse than I had ever experienced. I was texting with my piano teacher because I needed to change my lesson that week. I was so tired the thought of figuring out a new time was more than I could even focus on.

The next day I had the worst sore throat I had ever experienced. I thought for sure I had strep throat. It hurt to swallow and it hurt up into my ears when I did swallow. I hate going to the doctor but my husband gets strep if he just looks at someone with it. So to save him I went to the doctor.

The good news was that I didn’t have strep but my mucus membranes, throat and lungs were inflamed from all of the allergens. And even better my oxygen level was 94, which I guess is lower than what they like. While I was at the doctor they gave me a nebulizer treatment, afterwords I felt like a different person. My oxygen level was up to 97. When the doctor came back in I asked him about the change. He explained that part of it was due to the medicine in the treatment being a stimulant. The other part was because my brain was finally getting the oxygen it needed.

This made me start thinking about other things in my life that I need. I realized that I was so tired Wednesday because I wasn’t getting enough oxygen. I didn’t realize that I was missing it until it was gone. What other things in life help me to live a better, healthier life but I don’t notice until they are gone.

I know that getting enough rest is very important to me. I have to have down time at home when I can just relax and not worry about anything. Exercise is another thing that my body needs to feel better. Because of everything going on with my lungs I haven’t been working out for a few days. Although I need the rest and my body needs the time to recuperate I can feel a difference in not working out.

I know that I need time to meditate, (even though I haven’t yet made it 5 minutes without my mind wandering off) study scriptures and pray. This time allows me to reconnect with my God and it reminds me of who I am and why I am here.

These are some of the things that help me to feel better. What do you need in your life to feel more energized? Do you create or make beautiful things? Does spending time with friends and family give you more energy? I would love to know what helps you. If you don’t know what gives you more energy or love for life I would encourage you to search for it.

Pay attention to the things in your life that you crave doing. Spend some time alone pondering what helps you to feel more connected to the world. You will find the things you need to give your life more energy.

I would love to hear what is important to you. Please share it with me in the comments.