Mandatory Grace and Self-Care
As we settle in to the darker half of the year, it's really so important to keep up with our self-care. With seasonal depression at it's height during the fall and winter months, those of us with aches and pains or chronic illness are really feeling the hurt, it's critical to our well-being to make time for ourselves, and most importantly, to allow ourselves grace.
It's so easy for us to plaster a smile not reaching our eyes, or to isolate, missing the energy (or the Spoons, for my fellow Spoonies) to connect with others, or we completely flip and project everything we have to everyone else just so we don't have to be alone with our own thoughts. Neither of these instances are healthy. Neither acceptable. And if you aren't taking the time for your own self-care, you might be none-the-wiser that you're even doing it.
We owe ourselves grace. We owe ourselves peace. We ourselves a break. We carry a heavy load. Emotional stresses manifest in our body and mind, so we feel it extra heavy.
This is the perfect time of year to start a new hobby. Make it your new "you time". Anything from meditative yoga, to taking up a musical instrument, learning knitting, building websites, journaling, start a blog, baking, just to name a few. Start taking yourself on dates. Go get a coffee, an ice cream, go to the movies, the library. Anything that gets you out of your normal routine, and into a new normal that dedicates time to you.
This darker half of the year should be heavily influenced by self-care. Make it mandatory. Give yourself grace for those days that you're needing a day in bed or a couch day. Sometimes that's exactly what your body needs, especially when you're dealing with a chronic illness and the fatigue that comes with it. Don't allow yourself to see it as anything but self-care. Self-care is extremely important. It's important physically. It's important mentally. It's important spiritually. You matter. Take the time for yourself. Give yourself grace.
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