100 Ways to Cope with Stress and A Story On Self-Care
The more you practice self-care and the better you take care of yourself on a daily basis, the more natural it becomes. I've had one of the worst weeks in a long time in my life. My father-in-law had a very serious accident with a chainsaw that could've been the end of all for him. By the grace of God, he is healing and rehabilitating very well for an 81 year old man. Through all of this, I have learned that my support system is bigger than I could've ever imagined, and now a week out I see that I have taken care of myself during this journey better than I may have in the past.
"If you practice self-care daily when you aren't facing tremendous stress, you will turn to healthy habits when you do hit a stressful period."
In the past, I may have comforted myself with junk food and quit taking care of myself and only focused on the stressor. And even though I still struggled to find time to sleep or eat, I did realize I wasn't stuffing my face with junk and I WAS praying frequently and taking lots of deep breaths. This week, we are traveling for my son's ball team, and I am finding myself seeking quiet spots to de-stress from last week. I've kept my Bible close. I have made time to run (my most effective tool to cope with stress). I am continuing to fill my body with healthy choices, and I've found time to read leisurely. These are my favorite ways to provide my own self-care, and the view in the mountains helps tremendously!
I encourage my clients to practice daily self-care. Practice makes perfect right? Well......practice doesn't really make perfect, but it does make it more natural and creates habit. If you practice self-care daily when you aren't facing tremendous stress, you will turn to healthy habits when you do hit a stressful period.
"The more you practice self-care and the better you take care of yourself on a daily basis, the more natural it becomes. "
Let's face it, life happens! It happens to us all, even me. Difficult struggles do not discriminate. Be prepared. Practice your daily self-care.
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Dayna
I'm a Failure
So I've really had a come to Jesus moment right smack in the face Very Recently. I don't usually share about myself, but I think the best way to help others sometimes is to show that even I struggle with life sometimes.
For some reason, when people hear I am a therapist, they get this notion that I have it all together and all figured out and that everything is easy for me and my family. I don't know where people get that idea that therapists are perfect. The only perfect being I know of was Jesus, and I surely am not Jesus.
I want you to know the ugly truth...
I fail at things. Sometimes I fail HARD. I fail at taking care of myself. I fail at parenting. I fail at marriage. I fail at friendships. I even fail at work. And that's OK! Because I'm allowed to fail.
#1- I am human.
#2- I AM NOT JESUS.
#3- Failure leads to all the good stuff
GROWTH---STRENGTH---COURAGE---PEACE---BLESSINGS---ACCEPTANCE
The last couple of years, I have had some weird health issues pop up. And while some are not common, others are becoming more common in people my age. Why? Because we live in a world of constant activity and business. It's all relevant to self-care. I am an advocate to others in terms of self-care. I would like to think my practice is around empowering women, teens, and children to care for themselves. It's not just about listening for me. It's about knowing when you leave my office, you have a way to be gentler on yourself and healthier.
However, I have been failing at taking care of my own self. I got so wrapped up in things I wanted to do and began spiraling into a puddle of self-doubt as health issues arrived. My body has been telling me to slow down, and it has been trying to signal to me that I'm forgetting the most important thing. Me. I quit running consistently, quit eating clean, gained weight, lost progress I had made and all the while ran myself down trying to do too many things and overthinking every step I took. My parenting became lazy, my marriage became a little distant, and my house was missing attention.
But all it takes is a new day, a new sunrise and me saying I'm done with how things are going. It's time to put myself first again.
Do you ever find yourself losing this battle? I know you do, unless you are Jesus... Life is a marathon, not a sprint. There are hurdles and injuries and struggles to make it to your goal. But it is so worth it. If you find yourself in a losing battle right now, all I have to say is Learn from it, Forgive Yourself, and Move Forward because every day is a new day.
And remember:
#1- I am Human!
#2- I am not Jesus!
#3- Failure leads to all the good stuff!
I am going to spend some time focusing on self-care and invite you to join me. Let me know in the comments where you are in your marathon of life. Are you struggling right now? Maybe I can help coach you along.
Blessings,
Dayna