As the old saying goes- "You cannot pour from an empty cup", so it means that you need to take care of yourself first to take care of others. One must schedule some amount of "Me Time" in a day to feel re-energized for one’s overall wellbeing.
As we all are aware that our relationship with the inner self is the foundation for the relationship with others. It is necessary to build a positive resilient attitude with the self to overcome the inevitable situations which trigger emotional reactions such as self-blame, comparison, body shaming, criticism or low confidence which gradually develops into fear, anxiety, stress, depression, anger or grief. As mental health professionals we have psycho-educated our clients on the importance of self-care and encouraged them to practice regularly.
But when it comes to handling our own family responsibilities- as a parent and sibling, we also find it difficult to prioritize self-care. Yes, we would have enthusiastically started to take some amount of “Me Time” for our overall wellbeing like walking, jogging, yoga, meditation, drawing, painting, positive journal writing, praying, etc but as time passes by we feel guilty for not being able to follow it due to frequent change in our schedule which is the major cause for burnout state. But these are all general self-care suggestions. Plan a unique routine which works best for you.
Here is a tip to plan your unique self-care routine - "Think like a child and act like an adult.” A child always gets excited to play a new game and yet doesn’t self-blame or feel guilty that he/she didn't play the same game again. Likewise, don't worry if you aren't able to practice the same self-care routine every day. That's ok! Like a child, enthusiastically adapt to the new one and connect to the child within you.
If you are feeling stressed to build an action plan, then relax! Here is a link which provides an instant action plan - https://www.actionforhappiness.org/calendars.
Life is a Celebration - Celebrate the world inside you to celebrate the world outside you.
This article is dedicated to all the people who inspired me to write on self-care.
Lakshmi C
January 2022
