When Self Care Becomes Self destruction
In this day and age, with the wave of technology keeping us constantly in connection to those around us, constantly attached to work, to emails, to social media and ever-growing pressure to look or act a certain way – it is more important than ever to engage in the art of self-care.
Self-care can be found in many forms. There are the daily little acts such as adequate hydration, consuming nutritious meals, taking time out each day to do something that gives you joy, or they can be bigger acts such as retreats, booking time off, spending a day in nature.
The ultimate self-care act I have come across is listening to what your body truly needs, and of course, finding balance for you!
Now, this can be a little tricky, especially for those with underlying illness such as autoimmune, chronic pain, anxiety, and depression to name a few. Often there are days you wake up in absolute agony and really do need that extra hour of sleep, that one episode to sit down and have a cuppa to quiet that busy mind. Listening to your body and giving rest when needed is always important. Sometimes that hour sleep is more beneficial than that 30-minute walk you feel you HAVE to do.
However, is there a point where self-care becomes self-destruction?
I believe the answer is yes.
Everyone has down days, that is absolutely true, especially with chronic illness. But if more days than not we wake up, decide we need to rest so you pop on Netflix and finish a season in a day, every day, or don’t cook and instead order greasy takeaway more days than not, throw down a block of chocolate or packet of chips.
When you do this on your days off, do you feel refreshed and energised after? If the answer is no, then I’m afraid we’ve stepped away from self-care.
I’m not talking about when you are in a flare state for those with chronic illness, because rest is incredibly important for recovery and you can try some quick, low energy self-care tasks to increase your energy when that occurs. I’m talking about low motivation days, when your energy cup is drained and you need to top it back up, rather than zone out.
Some simple tips to try instead:
Take 10 minutes to step out in the fresh air, feel the sun on your skin (not for too long just 10 minutes to grab some vital vitamin D)
Have a soothing cup of herbal tea – chamomile, passionflower, green or rosehip tea
Try a nap – 20- or 45-minutes power naps are great to help re-energise your body and mind
Take a stroll in nature – we are often copped up inside and forget how healing being amongst nature can be
Try earthing – take your shoes off and spend some time on the bare grass or even sand. Earthing, also known as grounding, has been found to reduce stress levels and improve sleep over time
Often these little things can help reset and truly tune in.
What is it that you need to nourish your soul, mind and body today?
If you are struggling to break the cycle and need assistance with your health and wellbeing – book a 15-minute chat to see how we can improve your health together.
Yours in harmony and health,
Rachael xx
