{"id":2956,"date":"2018-04-12T09:14:45","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T15:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/?p=2956"},"modified":"2023-04-27T13:32:14","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T19:32:14","slug":"self-care-indulgence-essential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/self-care-indulgence-essential","title":{"rendered":"Self-care: indulgence or essential?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Self-care: indulgence or essential?<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Many of us have been brought up with the idea that taking care of ourselves in any way but the most basic healthy eating and exercise is selfish. We should think of others first. We should take care of our kids, our community, our church, our friends, our coworkers, our pets before indulging ourselves. The list of priorities goes on and on. Where do we put taking care of ourselves? Self-care often winds up at the very end of the list\u2026the place where we never arrive.<\/p>\n

What we really need are what Nikisha Brunson, co-founder of Urban Bush Babes describes as \u201ceveryday healthy rituals that help keep your body and mind energized.\u201d For one person it might mean spending an hour each day knitting, for another reading, for yet another a soothing bubble bath. Each of us is different except for that one outstanding issue: we need to care for ourselves to maintain the energy we need to care for others.<\/p>\n

Self-care is not just for the self-indulgent \u201cwomen who do lunch.\u201d It is for every one of us. It is crucial to finding peace of mind and to finding what is needed within ourselves to give back in this uncertain and often scary world.<\/p>\n

Self-care is especially important in times of grief. It is easy to bury oneself in the details that crop up when you have experienced a loss. The following exercises are excerpted from Griefwork: Healing from Loss <\/em><\/a>by Fran Zamore, LISW, IMFT, and Esther R.A. Leutenberg. They are applicable to all of us, whether we are experiencing a loss or just experiencing our day-to-day life.<\/p>\n

Are you doing enough for yourself? Download \u201cSelf-care Domains<\/a>\u201d and keep it handy. During the next couple of weeks fill in what you do for yourself in each of the five domains: Physical, spiritual, social, emotional, and intellectual. You will find that many activities are applicable to more than one domain.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

Going to exercise class <\/strong><\/p>\n