Self Care

 

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"I gave myself care 

when it wanted destruction

and that is when my healing

began."

(juanson dizon)

 

Somebody reminded me today that "we need to put on our own oxygen mask first." It's easy to forget to take care of yourself when you are busy taking care of everyone else. Often, spending time nurturing yourself is at the bottom of a massive 'to do' list, so it gets put off, or forgotten, when actually, if you don't take care of yourself, you cannot help others.

 

There are lots of ways to spend a bit of time on self care (reading this blog, and responding to the prompts is one). It's not selfish to prioritise yourself, and it doesn't have to take long - perhaps just a few minutes a day to start with. When you're working, running a home, looking after children or being a carer for someone else your day can be so full and exhausting that it seems hard to find the time just to pause for a few moments.

Click here and here for some ideas that might help.

 

Writing prompts:

• Are you 'putting on your own oxygen mask first'? If not, write about what is stopping you.
• Make a list of all the things you did today that were for someone else and not wholly for yourself.
• Next make a list of anything you did that was totally self-care.
• Now make a list of all the things you could do in the next month to nurture yourself. Choose one of them, imagine yourself doing it and write about how it feels.