What Self Care Looks Like

     The recession we presently find ourselves in, with its foreclosures, job lay-offs, family strife and belt-tightening, can have a deeply depressing effect on ourselves personally, so that we begin to have a diminishing tendency to self-care.  It is surprisingly easy to begin to forget about taking care of ourselves during these difficult times, from the aspect of what we eat to the most rudimentary of tasks, from exercising to brushing ones teeth.  Perhaps we should all stop a moment and consider what self-care looks like to “me” as an individual.  This small bit of introspection may shed light on why we feel as we do when matters are very well likely out of our hands.

     One starts the day with getting out of bed.  As simple as this sounds, it can be amazingly difficult if the weight of the world is upon ones shoulders.  Try to find one or two positive aspects of what this day may bring and maybe even this innocuous of chores may give rise to a slightly better perspective on the day.

     Personal hygiene can suffer at the hands of depression.  Just washing ones face and brushing ones teeth in the morning can alter the day, as a matter of freshness and vitality.  If you take vitamins, don’t forgo your regimen, or perhaps if you don’t already subscribe to some sort of supplement, add a multi-vitamin to your list the next time you shop (just remember to take them).  Now that you are ready for the day, look for something positive in your planning, or if you don’t already have one, create one.  If the day is pleasant, go outside and walk a short distance and reflect upon what you would be doing if you hadn’t taken the first step.  Although it seems at first counterproductive to dwell on the negative, when you are taking positive measures to increase your inner vitality, the fact that you have taken those first steps can add a bounce to your attitude.

          Learn to dwell on what “could be”.  Not to wrap yourself in fantasy, but take what seemed hopeless and give it hope.  This may be the most difficult of challenges, but remember, you did not become depressed overnight and it may take some regular steps toward a positive attitude to change things around.  Try to find one positive thing about your day and build upon it until you have exhausted all its possibilities.  Remember this image throughout your day and try to think of a second one.  You will soon be finding yourself dwelling on positive possibilities and spending less time concentrating on thg the recessionose things which bring you down.

     What self-care looks like to “me” can be a mantra out of depressing thoughts – simply by taking action.  Any action that has a positive impact on your well-being can bring you out of the morass of self-pity and into the light of a whole new day.  Remember, each new moment brings with it a new beginning and even the smallest of details add up to a whole new you.  Look for the things in your own life that are examples of a poorer attitude of your normal self and work on these.  It is often the smallest things which bring the greatest rewards.

     What self-care looks like to “you” will be decidedly different than what it looks like to anyone else, but the underlying principal remains the same.  ACTION.  Taking action to control ones destiny.  Taking action to change ones outlook on the  world and how to live within that world.  Self-care is a beginning and a positive tool for enriching ones life, despite the outside forces which tend to bring us down.  Self-care is the ultimate building block in self-help.