North Carolina Divorce Lawyers BlogSelf-Care Awareness
September is National Self-Care Awareness Month. It is a time to remind yourself that you should tend to yourself just as much as you tend to others. Self-care is different for everyone. For some, it’s a brief escape from reality in a good book or movie. For others, it can be a simple run in the park on a dewy morning. Some find that perfect moment when they sit back and gaze at their perfectly mowed lawn. And yet for others, it might even be finally going forward with divorce!
Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to be luxurious. And it doesn’t need to be brief. Self-care is the concept that focuses on recharging your own spirit so that you can have the energy to spend on others. It is more a mindset than any singular task. It should reduce your stress and allow you respite from the daily turmoil. It should not be confused with being selfish.
Self Care Ideas
Most importantly, I want to stress that self-care should not be judged. Whatever someone does, if it helps them get through the daily struggle and allows them to become a better version of themselves, it should not be met with snide comments and boastful comparisons. Let us remember that everyone has their routine. Personally, I enjoy my escape and recharge with unhealthy amounts of popular culture consumption and equally unhealthy amounts of potatoes. (It’s called comfort food for a reason.) It gives me that brief respite that allows me to dive back into my work. But it’s also important that mind and soul are conjoined with body. So, yes, I do find a way to counteract that unhealthy amount of potatoes; walking my dog on long trail is a Saturday morning ritual that also helps me charge my mental coffers.
Self Care Goals
Since self-care is so expansive, one way to just get started is listen to your body and what it is craving at the moment. Understand that craving and find a healthy way to satisfy it. If you feel stressed from work – and let’s all admit that we are – find that escape from work that allows you to recharge. I’m not saying ignore all work-related emails, but giving yourself a true 30 minute lunch where you ignore the emails can go a long way in helping your mental health. The ultimate goal is to take better care of yourself, so that you can take better care of others. If there is anything this world needs, it is care.