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Self Care
Self care is about being able to look after your own needs to allow you to lead a well balanced and fulfilling life. Sadly today it seems to become harder and harder as more pressure is put on people to achieve more in the work place, more as a parent and to be good at everything. However often what happens is the harder people try, particularly people who suffer from perfectionism, the less they actually end up doing to care for themselves. |  |
People pleasers are notoriously good at looking after everyone but rarely do they consider themselves as someone to be cared for. If there are six people in a family unit they will only care for five of them, completely forgetting themselves on the list! Eventually you will pay a heavy price for neglecting yourself, whether you develop huge resentments towards other people or medical conditions such as heart disease or eating disorders. The goods news is that it is never too late to start looking after yourself.
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Self care means looking after yourself in every aspect. It’s not just about looking after your physical wellbeing through sleep, exercise or healthy eating, it also means looking after your mental wellbeing through relaxation and fun. |
Many people feel that self care is a selfish thing to do, however it is actually essential to a fulfilling life. We all need time alone to ourselves to have a few minutes of peace and quiet to enjoy our hobbies, or relaxation. Whether you meet your friends and go out for the night or book a weekend away, it is essential to have some fun in your life as well as working hard. Sadly today it is becoming increasing common to expect workers to work longer and longer hours and I have even heard of several situations where people are being asked to sleep overnight in the office so that employers can squeeze every last ounce out of their staff. Worse still when you have one workaholic in an office it often makes other people feel guilty so they increase their working hours forgetting that perhaps the workaholic has a reason to bury themselves in their work. The workaholic needs help and support to recover from this problem rather than reinforce that long hours are something to be proud of. Of course there will always be times in your working life when you will have to work extra hours in order to work through unexpected peaks, however the workaholics works relentlessly day in day out.
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Sleep is essential in order to function well. The number of hours each person requires varies although the average is 8 hours per night. Margaret Thatcher who was England’s first lady Prime Minister, was well reported to only sleep for 4 hours each night, however most people would be left falling asleep all day. If you suffer from certain conditions such as eating disorders, tiredness can exacerbate the symptoms making life very difficult and even lead to bingeing. |  |
Self care means eating well so that food is not destroying the quality of your life. If you have a poor nutritional input you can end up feeling utterly exhausted simply because of the food you are eating. It is very easy to become malnourished from essential nutrients, particularly if you suffer from compulsive overeating where you regularly binge on high sugar foods. Nutritional Therapists will show you how to maximise the best outcome from the food you eat. You will learn how to balance your nutritional intake along with rectifying any medical conditions which can be corrected with nutritional strategies. Let food heal your body and mind.
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 | Exercise is a great way to take care of both your body and your mind. When I talk about exercise I don’t mean going to the gym to workout until you feel the pain. Exercise is any form of activity that gets your body moving and your heart pumping. It can be a walk round the park, digging in the garden or cleaning the house. The more you enjoy your exercise routine the more you are likely to stick with it. Find something you enjoy, take up dancing lessons, a round of golf or swimming. Exercise releases stress and anxiety; it allows you to have time to think about life and the things that are bothering you. I love my daily walk as it sets my day off to a good start. |
Self care means looking after your emotional needs instead of bottling everything up, only to erupt like a volcano causing damage to all who lie in your path or to eat away at your insides. Some people have anger issues which require intervention through anger management programmes, while other people simply need to express their feelings. Everyone needs support from loved ones, friends or family. There is no shame in finding life tough as Scott Peck’s opening words in the Road Less Travelled was “life is difficult”. It doesn’t matter who we are, how successful we are or how famous we are, we all have emotional needs. Sometimes there are issues you feel so ashamed or embarrassed about that you can not face telling anyone in person, so online counselling can be an excellent way of finding help to face those emotional turmoil’s. Other times you can deal with the emotions through journaling. If you struggle with your emotions and are unable to reach out for help there is a twelve step support group called Emotions Anonymous
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There are many good books to help you learn how to look after yourself. I personally recommend Self-Nurture: Learning to Care for Yourself as Effectively as You Care for Everyone Else, by Alice Domar. Self care is vital to living a healthy happy life, so start now, taking one step at a time. | |
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