The Act of Self-Care

It was getting to the end of winter again and in my family, that time of the year comes with the joyful feeling of March Break and which translates to a week’s holidays for the children. My family takes much joy in vacations; whether we are engaging in road trips or flying, we like to take full advantage of the environment we are in. But this particular year, I had the idea to stay home instead of travelling to another place. I thought we should stay in and have a staycation. I felt lazy. I realised I was thinking of the packing and the number of hours on the road, but also deep down I knew I needed the break. I realized I have been extremely tired lately.

The realization of the need for me to go on our yearly vacation did not register until a few days before the trip, our garage door broke down and I called for a guy to help fix it, while the guy was fixing the garage he asked me to pull out my car, so that he could re-centre the garage door to its proper place. I gladly got into my vehicle, and prior to this I could see the repairman’s vehicle outside my garage door, so I noted the need to be careful while reversing but alas, I drove straight into the car, my radio was on, and I heard the warning signals from my car but I thought I was only getting close to the flower pot in my peripheral view, the next thing I heard was a sound confirming that my bumper had brushed his vehicle. I have never been so embarrassed in my life, but my mind was definitely somewhere else, my thoughts were all over the place, I was physically tired and fatigued, I was multitasking, and my plates had been so full for a while, and it was apparent I needed a break. That was my final sign, a confirmation of the need to engage in self-care.

You may be lucky, perhaps you have not done anything stupid like me, maybe you are on edge already snarling at your kids, or complaining about things you used to enjoy doing, you may find yourself possibly lacking energy…these may be signs that you need to take some time for yourself, to take a rest and engage in self-care. It may be time for that holiday or even a day of rest at home.

Many women feel guilty for engaging in self-care activities, we look at all those piles of clothes to be folded, those dishes to be stacked in the dishwasher – yet we refuse to take a break. What if we were to delegate duties? The world will not crash if you decide to take a day off, the sun will still rise from the East and set in the West even if you chose to go on vacation, because when you decide to pamper yourself, you will regain your sanity back, boost your energy levels back up, you will be more compassionate and understanding towards your family members or the people that you work with and even be more productive and finally, I always tell my clients, you can only give from what you have, if you have nothing left and you are completely drained of energy, then what will you give your children, hubby or colleagues?

As for me I did go on that vacation, I even had a full body massage done and I am back now with more energy and plans to slow down and engage in more self-care activities such as meditation, getting into bed earlier than before, listening to music and not passing by an opportunity to have power naps in the afternoon.

If you want to know more about self-care activities and you feel you are already burnt out, and you need help, reach out to a therapist near you or do contact me at the address below. We all need to refuel and recharge.

Written by Ibukun Ogunsina, New Beginnings Barrie, Psychotherapy and Counselling services.
Website: www.newbeginningsbarrie.com
E-mail: inquiry@newbeginningsbarrie.com
Tel: +1 705 241 8456