I had a bad cold last month. It was a sick-in-the-bed kind of cold. For the first day or so I watched a little tv, caught up on some reading, made trips to the kitchen to unload the dishwasher.
After the second day, there was to be no distraction from being all the coughing, blowing, and sneezing. All I could do is lie in bed.
I lay there wondering: Did I wash my hands enough? Am I getting enough sleep? Do I need to take more vitamins? Am I taking good care of myself?
Day two stretched into day 3 and day 4, and before long I had racked up about 3 weeks worth of being sick.
After a few days I was just well enough to return to work. But nearly every moment when I wasn’t working, I focused on employing whatever means necessary to get healthy.
I got antibiotics from the doctor, and acupuncture and Chinese herbs to deal with the sour-tummy side affects from the drug.
I sipped ginger tea with lemon, echinacea tea with honey, valerian tea to induce relaxation.
I went for a walk outside to clear my lungs. I watched comedies on Netflix — thinking that laughing would help clear my lungs.
I took hot, lavender-scented baths. I did respiratory steams of eucalyptus to open the bronchial passages. I slept with a humidifier in the room — in case the central heat keeping our bodies warm was also drying out my sinus passages.
All this self-care was exhausting!
But something must have worked because I am on the mend.
Now I’m wondering what kinds of self-care does this healthy person do.
I have a tendency toward working too much, staying up too late, going-going-going until my get-up-and-go is gone.
Most of the time I operate on 2 speeds: OFF, as in sleeping; and ON, as in going 90-miles-an-hour.
Sometimes the only way for me to take any down-time is for me to get sick.
Maybe it’s time to make a change. Try extreme self-care while I’m healthy — instead of doing SOS self-care once I’m sick.
I posted a list on facebook of all the things I do as a means of self-care. They included the following:
- eating when I’m hungry
- sleeping when I am tired
- seeing a movie
- opening the blinds and letting sunlight in my room
- going for a walk
- spending time with my family
- roller-blading
- saying ‘no’ when I need to
- taking a hot bath
- saying no to a workout when I’m feeling unwell
- saying yes to an activity that will add some fun to my life
- taking a trip with my husband
I asked my facebook friends some ways they practice self-care. Here’s what they had to say:
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i try to spend a little time in the park every day
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walk every day
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protect my art time
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sleep enough
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dance often
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i work on saying “no” when i’m over-booked, but i’m not always good at it
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have my nails done
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use good shampoo, soap, lotion, etc
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quiet time each day to do anything but clean the house
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rest when I am tired. If I can.
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epsom salts. bath time gives me clarity
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spend time with my kitty cat. And my friends. And trees. trees make me feel nice
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if I am upset about something, I remember how great I have it and I watch this ridiculously awesome video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9MszVE7aR4&ob=av2e It’s even better when my 3 year old dances around.
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Have a consistent yoga practice that is both firm and soft…and try to live life that way also
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I write in my journal and let it all out
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I try to remember that I alone am really responsible for self-care.
- eat nutritious food
- I try to know and respect my needs, and ask for help if I need it.
- read
- write
- do nothing
- hop on my super-fast bike and take off like there’s no tomorrow
- cook
- massage
- eat good clean foods
- forgive myself because I am my own worst critic
I take inspiration from the list above.
What do you do for self-care?