Self-care is a GIFT we give to ourselves; caring is the gift we give to others! September is self-improvement month, suicide prevention month & self-care month! I want to discuss strategies using self-care to handle the stresses of self-care, giving care and COVID-19 virus.
I talked about stress impacts in Estrogen Energy and how the positive energy from female friendships reduce stress and lifts our spirits. Now I’d like to impart some self-care strategies to achieve similar de-stress results.
What I love most about this adventure in women’s wellness, is learning. I get to see many views in the subjects I write for Glorious Gals. This is my lesson for the self-care segment of my Women’s Wellness mental health series: Is self-care the problem? Do we feel burnt out and exhausted that there is no time to get our nails done or get a massage or to find even a few minutes to be quiet in a solitary space? Are these ideas just more items on an ever-expanding to-do list? Do we feel guilty that we are not attending to kids, friends, partners, ourselves?
As I continue to absorb information from a variety of sources I recall a sentiment a very wise woman told me years ago, “…no one will look after you like you.” Recently I began telling my friends that we as females give of ourselves to everyone. Who, what replenishes us? If we keep giving what happens when we are empty? No matter what is going on 15-30 minutes for a manicure and polish does wonders for attitude! This is just an example and a rather short one. Is it beneficial? Only when you figure how to block the negative garbage in your head and begin to believe what you should be telling you, “You are brilliant!” “You are beautiful!” You are wanted!” It works! Not every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week! We are all humans and succumb to the worst self doubts our imaginations can create! There are ways to put those self-doubts into perspective.
We have toolboxes for gardens, for house cleaning, paints, for kitchen tools, for putting together furniture or stripping & remodeling fixtures! Why not build box for you? Fill it with some accomplishments: raising a family, achieving degree, maintaining household bills, waking up every morning! Add a few affirmations: I am worth it! I am beautiful! I am awesome! I am proof that saying those often enough allows me to believe them every time I write the affirmations! Pack in a few friends with positive attitudes! Negative attitudes are not worth a millisecond of your time!
Amid the COVID-19 virus spread there is an uncertainty about what and when we get to a new normal and a distinct undercurrent of anxiety that most of us feel but do not necessarily identify. I believe it is there just below the surface level of conscious. The US Military talks about global concern over the heightened fear and paranoia stemming from Covid-19. Although fear and anxiety are reasonable responses to this pandemic left unharnessed, fear can lead to panic and destructive behavior. We are already seeing this in grocery stores and other shops — just try looking for toilet paper! You world think military members, families and veterans would know more about handling uncertainty and not feel the stress. But we did not see our families impacted by school closures and event cancellations, I catch myself when I want to go and have a drink at the end of a long week at work…virtually happy hours are not quite the same either. Throughout this I keep thinking we can control our reactions. Stay healthy so you are less likely to have compromised immune system. Get flu shot so you are more likely NOT to encounter flu like symptoms prevalent in Covid-19 infections. If you need to grocery shop go early or late after the normal crowds. Try to limit on-line and shop local…small, local business need our support. Do you know neighbors who are imuno-compromised because of age or auto-immune disease? Could they use a friend to grocery shop or prepare meals? You can get lists electronically or phone call. When ready to deliver text or call and before they open door arrange best delivery so YOU do not infect him/her and THEY do not infect you.
My division manager recently said in a town hall that we should expect everyone outside our home is infected. We as a medical community know without doubt face masks and social distancing really work. If you are feeling increased stress, do something you know is nice, employ your kids, communicate via Zoom-like tools and always find a friend are just the time for you to re-energize yourself.
