Self-Care...
Keeping It Simple
Guest Blog by Rita Garnto
Self-care is defined as any intentional action you take to take care of (aka nurture) your emotional, mental, physical, and/or spiritual well-being.
Self-care When you hear those words, what thought immediately pops into your mind?
- Yes, I know I should be doing more.
- I feel guilty when I take time for myself.
- Who has the time?
- What’s the point?
- I love my self-care!
No matter your answer, the words “self-care” could be used interchangeably with “self-preservation” especially given the climate of the last couple of years.
We are in need of self-care now more than ever! The reported incidents of anxiety, depression, suicide, and domestic violence are all on the rise and as a society, we are in trouble - especially as our disunity in our country grows.
There are so many factors in our lives that we don’t have control over, and we really have been bombarded by this lack of control for the last 2 years – going into year three – with the pandemic, work from home, school from home, protests, extreme weather, and the list goes on.
Three of the biggest emotional stressors we experience are:
- Lack of control
- fear of the unknown, and
- uncertainty.
Each one of these stressors, trigger the stress response in our brains and bodies and without some kind of reprieve, such as adequate self-care, we will pay a heavy price with our health and well-being.
Ok, enough of the doom and gloom... Enter in SIMPLE self-care.
I define Simple Self-Care as any intentional self-care action that can SLIDE into your busy schedule and is easy, not complex, or rocket-science.
Simple self-care does not:
- require a change of clothes or shoes or
- require you to block out time in your schedule.
Sound easy?!
It is!
Here are some quick examples you can start using right now to help counteract the negative effects of stress overload.
- Before you get out of bed, bring both bent knees up towards your chest and pull them towards your chest and hold. This is a great lower back stretch prior to getting up! Let’s ease some of that lower back tightness and subsequent pain before getting up.
- While you are brushing your teeth, stretch. How?!... put one foot on the edge of the counter, bathtub rim, toilet seat (preferably with lid closed) and bend that knee while keeping the back leg straight. Google... runner’s stretch. Stretching tight hip flexors (those muscles on the front of your body) can ease lower back pain. Tight hamstrings? Place the heel of a straight leg on the counter and gently lean forward.
- Feeling the frustration of a slow internet connection, being caught in traffic, or unorganized kids? Take a deep breath and wiggle your toes. Yup! I said wiggle your toes 🙃 and continue to take 3 to 6 slow deep breaths. This will bring your frustration level down. Yes, this is science backed and involves activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Enough said.
- Don’t have time for a planned walk? Park a little further away in the parking lot from your office or the store, take the stairs, walk while you are talking on the phone, walk to the end of the street, driveway, parking lot ... just get those extra steps in. They do add up!
- Lots of details, facts, to-do’s swirling around in your head? Can’t think straight? Overwhelmed? Write it down. Make a list. Get it OUT of your head so you can start to think clearer and prioritize.
My suggestion... start with only ONE simple self-care choice. So often we try to do too much at once and inadvertently, it sets us up for failure. Choose a couple of tips that resonate with you and focus on just one. Let’s set ourselves up for success from the beginning!
Self-care does not have to be planned out or scheduled.
Keep a couple of simple tips, tricks, and self-care tools handy in your mind and USE them regularly. It is not just the one time you take deep breaths and wiggle your toes, but the regular deep breaths with toe wiggling that have the biggest impact. Doing a “little” self-care is so much better than doing nothing.
When those uncontrollable moments happen. Pause. Do some simple self-care. Yes, this will help counteract those negative effects of stress overload. And, oh yes - your future self will thank you.
Happy self-caring and here's to keeping life simple more real.
Warmly,
Rita
