I was tired today. All day. I’m not sure why…but I had a difficult time simply keeping my eyeyes open! I had a headache and felt pukey…so I lied back down this afternoon. Finally, I remembered that, as part of my journey to health and happiness and joy and contentment, I want, no need to get better at self-care. This may seem simple. But as a women and especially as a mother, I struggle to put myself first! I understand that it will be a better “me” that they will have to live with. It’s also difficult, though I truly understand the importance of self-care, however, there are many many judgers out there. And then I worry about people thinking I’m lazy, and calling me selfish. Sadly, the more women begin to take care of their own needs first, the more they are labelled as selfish! The sad thing is that numerous studies show that women who take care of their own needs first are happier and more content and, therefore bring patience, understanding, empathy, calmness and happiness to the table. All positive traits that are necessary to keep things moving smoothly, but that damn “selfish” label just gets in my way!! I know that I feel better once all of the things that I need to do are completed. Instead of feeling stressed and worrying about it in the back of my mind (which uses a huge chunk of my energy), I feel ready to take on the day. I just know that there’s a huge difference in my behaviour depending upon whether or not I’ve taken care of myself! I also want to be a positive role-model for my kids. They need to know that it’s important to take care of your own needs. If I was so beat that I couldn’t even keep my eyes open, in the middle of the afternoon, I clearly need to lie down for a rest. So I did. Here’s the thing, even though a part of me did enjoy the well-needed rest, another part felt guilty! Was anyone angry? No. Did they freak out and get mad at me? No. And here’s the takeaway point of the day:
- Stop worrying about what others think!!
- The only one expending energy on anxiety is you, everyone else could care less!
- Stop being your own worst critic
- Take care of your needs, FIRST (if you’re feeling good and content, helping others is more effective and enjoyable and you don’t find resentment sneaking up!)
- Self-care is ESSENTIAL! Do something kind for or to yourself/take care of yourself everyday
To help with research and treatment for Trigeminal Neuralgia please go to http://www.tnnme.com (Trigeminal Neuralgia and Me) to sign a petition to have the World Health Organization (WHO) add Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) to their “Health topic list.”
“Hopefully one day I’ll get it right, or at least have fun, while about it I write!!”