Do you take time for yourself every day? Do you have rituals or routines each day that help you to recharge and rejuvenate?
For a long time I've been reading about self-care practices and how important they are not only for the individual doing them, but for those the individual gives to and cares for. If you aren't doing things to recharge yourself and refill your tank, how will you help others and take care of your family? I believe that most of us, women especially, are running around with empty tanks, trying to do more and more without taking moments to themselves for rest and rejuvenation.
Guilty as charged. I am continually brought back to this idea because I am terrible about filling up my tank. I spend my day giving to children with special needs, but don't take the time to refill my tank. I'm almost always running on empty. What does that lead to? Getting headaches, no energy, and little passion to do what I love to do the most and feeling burdened by this beautiful thing I do well. But I don't do it so well when I am running on empty. I'm tired, cranky, uncreative, and finding little joy in my work. Sound familiar?
Why Am I Getting Burnout?
This burnout is a common occurrence for individuals who work in the healthcare field or other career area (parenting is definitely included in this category) that they are giving to and caring for others in some capacity. Why? We love to give and have a desire to help others. Or at least, that's what brought us into this field of work. Over time, we may feel that love and desire diminish over time. So why the burnout? The more we give to others, the more our mind, body, and soul need to be nourished with self-care practices. But as giving people, we often feel that taking time to care for ourselves feels selfish. What we need to wrap our heads around is that it is selfish for us not to do things to rejuvenate and refill. It's selfish because without taking time for ourselves, we are too tired, cranky, and sometimes resentful to give to others what they need of us.
Self-Care = Medicine
We have to change this mindset about self-care practices. I challenge you to think of this depletion as a chronic condition that is remediated by self-care practices. For example, if someone had a chronic condition that required that they took medicine every day in order to stay healthy (i.e. hypothyroidism, diabetes, heart disease, etc) and they said they weren't going to take their medication because they feel selfish doing so, most people would think they were crazy or stupid. We need to view self-care practices the same way. They are medicine that we need every day to keep us healthy and happy and to prevent depletion. I'm very guilty of not taking the time because my to-do list is too long or I'm too tired to do anything besides veg out on the couch. But as I'm writing this, I'm dealing with significant burnout, lack of creativity, lack of energy, and lack of desire to do much besides watch tv. Guess why? I have stopped doing things daily, just for me, to refill my tank. At best, I am doing 2 activities weekly. When I am doing things daily, my life is much better and smoother- I'm less stressed, happier, loving my job, not having psychosomatic illnesses (headaches for me), and feeling joy daily.
What If I’m Too Busy For Self-Care?
Can you commit to giving yourself a minimum of 15 minutes a day, every single day, where you do something that feels good to you, sparks joy, encourages creativity, helps you to relax? I promise it'll be worth it, but you need to be completely committed to you during that time without distractions.
What Are Some Simple Self-Care Activities I Can Do?
Here are some super simple ideas to try:
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Read a book (for pleasure alone, not for any other motive)
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Go for a walk — even better, make it a mindful walk where you don't speak or think, just observe your surroundings and sensations within yourself
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Meditate — we’ve all heard that meditation is helpful — even 2 minutes will have positive effects
- Take 10 slow, deep breaths — this will automatically calm the nervous system, which will increase clarity and productivity when you do get back to other activities
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Sit in silence outside — bonus points if you focus on noticing each of the five senses to incorporate more mindfulness into the activity
- Eat a meal slowly and in silence
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Create something — crafting, writing, journaling, painting, drawing — just something you enjoy doing!
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Take a bath — bonus points if you turn down the lights, light a candle, throw in some Epsom salts, and play some relaxing music
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Yoga or other mind-body exercise practice
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Self-massage — simply taking your time to rub lotion or oil into your skin rather than rushing through it
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Spend time in nature
- Do a body scan starting down at your toes and working all the way to the top of your head — notice where you may be carrying tension and focus on relaxing that part of your body
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Do something just for fun!
I hope you find ways to commit to you for just 15 minutes a day to recharge, refill, and rejuvenate. And stick with it. Even if you fall off the bandwagon and go awhile without doing it, just start it back up as soon as you think about it. You’ll notice that some of these things only take a few minutes or you take longer. There’s no excuse not to do even the simplest deep breathing activity that will make you feel so much better. You deserve to show yourself love and to show your body appreciation for allowing you to move through this world. I’d love to hear the ways you show yourself love through self-care by commenting below!
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