Self-Care.

That’s a term I’ve seen a lot lately. It’s also something that I’m really not good at, but that I’m trying to be better about. After a health scare earlier this year I promised myself that I’m going to practice better self-care. Yet it’s not something that comes easy to me. I’m prone to take care of everyone else and ignore myself until I can’t.

With all of the articles I’ve been seeing about self-care, I have a feeling that a lot of you are the same way. Why is it so hard to take time for yourself? To spend money on yourself? To pamper yourself on occasion? Those are all things I struggle with.

In January I decided that I was going to start getting the occasional massage since I believe it will help with the constant headaches, as well as the neck, back, and shoulder pain that I suffer with because of all the time I spend sitting at a computer. Here it is April and I still haven’t actually made an appointment to get a massage.

Why?

I don’t know. Every time I tell myself I’m going to call in the morning, I always have something else that I need to do first or that money would be better used for something else. Something like food or bills or even a dinner out with hubby (not that we go out to eat very often). But at least those things wouldn’t benefit just me.

The other day, in one of the FB groups for authors that I follow, a fellow writer posted about how she was thinking about getting a monthly massage and I was one of the people who commented and told her she should do it. Yet, I have a hard time taking my own advice.

By writing this post, I guess it’s my way of holding myself accountable. I might be a few months later than I had planned, but starting in April I’m going to get the occasional massage. I don’t know that I’ll do it on a regular basis, but every so often, when I feel like I need it, I’ll get one. And I’ll trying really hard not to feel guilty about it.

One thing I have been doing is taking a day off every few weeks and doing nothing but curling up on the couch and reading all day. I love to read, but work and life had gotten in the way the last few years. So that was one of the things I decided to change this year. It was one of the easier changes to make, although I admit I felt kind of guilty the first few times. But that’s no longer the case.

Reading is something I enjoy, but more importantly it is something that helps me unplug and unwind. It allows me to escape from the stress of real life and it inspires me in my own writing. Reading makes me happy. And good mental health is just as important as good physical health. 

So I read and I plan to get massages. What kind of things do you do for yourself? What suggestions do you have for self-care?