Caring For Yourself

Over the last several months we have been talking about the complexities of grief and loss and all the ways you can care for other people. This month we are going to shift the focus and turn our attention inward upon ourselves. We all care for other people in some way or another, in our families, in our church and even in our places of employment. To be fully present for the other we need to also tend to our own needs. We do this through self-care. According to Helen L. Coons, PhD, a clinical health psychologist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry in Aurora, Colorado, "Self-care is one’s actions around our physical, emotional, relational, perhaps professional, educational, and, for some people, spiritual well-being that reflects the way that we take care of ourselves on the most fundamental levels." By being aware that your resources are running low, self-care helps you step back and replenish them, rather than letting them drain entirely. Integrating self-compassion into your life will help prevent burn-out, will lift your own spirits, and prepare you for the next care-giving encounter.

Self-care encompasses just about anything you do to be good to yourself. This list is not exhaustive, but I hope you can find something here that would give you joy and rejuvenation.

- Mediation

- Prayer

- Color a Mandala

- Water Stones (write on a stone with chalk and watching the words wash away as the rock enters the water)

- Breathing techniques

- Draw in the sand

- Listen to Music

- Drink Tea

- Take a short walk

- Get out in the fresh air and sunshine

- Exercise

- Play a sport that you enjoy

- Journal

- See a therapist

- Join a support group

- Essential Oils

- Eat a special treat

- Let yourself laugh or cry

- Make an “I’m grateful for…” List

- Get away / go out of town

- Yoga

- Take a Nap

- Say “No” to things

- Write a letter to a friend

- Technology free time

- Spa treatment – professional or DIY

- Work on your hobby

- Read a book

This next month as you care for those around you and as we enter the busy holiday season, take some time each day, maybe 10 minutes, to practice self-care. Be as kind to yourself as you would be to others, allowing yourself the space and permission to rest and recharge.

“Self-care is not selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” -Eleanor Brown