Self-Care

[MickeyLee]

do any of the womangs of LPSG practice self-care?

those small bits of the world/day/life ya carve out to nourish yaself and only yaself. when you feed self-worth and cuddle/sooth bruised bits?

i'm starting to map out areas of me/my life i keep for myself. not compromising for the benefit of others. is not always easy to do. demands and inner-voices sometimes throw conflict my way. eventually my back will be totally duck-esque with its water-off-a qualities.

self-care.
do ya?
how do ya?
do ya need more of it?

 

[SprinkleMe69]

Occasionally I'll bawl my eyes out. It's sort of like a cleanse.

 

[Reddhott]

I really don't. I probably should.

 

[redz_rule]

Generally, I find it hard to switch off. The best I can do is re-direct my thoughts, so taking an epsom salt bath while reading a good book for half an hour gives me a break from everything on the other side of the bathroom door.

The not compromising for the benefit of others bit? I really wish I could do that. Really.

 

[SprinkleMe69]

It's hard but sometimes I have to tell myself that I cannot carry someone else's burdens. It's up to them to figure out and live through it. It's quite taxing on the mind and eventually taxes the body as well. What do I do to recover? Honestly, I sleep. Not for avoidance but to refresh my mind and body. Deep breathing and some yoga are also good.

 

[EllieP]

I think I've had three major episodes of self-evaluation and reorganization:

Post-divorce
Single parenthood
Moving from Atlanta

Those were three major upheavals for me. Probably the most intense was the middle one where I had been single for a few years and almost given up on any type of meaningful relationship. I had decided then to be celibate for the rest of my life. Yes, now it sounds absolutely silly, but then it was a cause to bring myself to a very deep cleansing and come to peace. It brought me wonderful peace and a new outlook on life.

I don't think I would have been ready for another relationship if I had not undergone that change that lasted almost two years. And then I met him.

And he was the cause for number three. I had come from being a country girl to a city girl and I found I liked the city. Now moving back to a less demanding form of civilization had me rearranging a lot of priorities that I thought were important but found out they weren't. It also brought me back to my country girl roots. I was able to help found a volunteer organization that gives me so much joy that it's hard to get depressed sometimes. And when I do feel that malaise coming on I just drive down to the stables, and I'm all better.

We've basically been empty nesters since my daughter left for college almost 8 years ago. That's been a tough one to swallow since, like I said, the single parent renovation was such a powerful happening in my life. And I had to realize that that part was complete and no longer necessary. But lessons learned from it are still pertinent.