WHY IS SELF-CARE DIFFICULT?
The moment you start thinking about self-care, it means you’ve realized your life is
moving in the wrong direction, and you need some form of behaviour change. We all
know it’s good to take care of ourselves, it takes some sacrifices. You must be willing
to move out of your comfort zone.
You must learn how to adopt new routines like getting out of bed on time, having
haircuts, going for medical checkups, cleaning your teeth, checking what you eat,
etc.
Here are a few more things you need to know about self-care.
1. Self-care Needs Effort
Being faithful to your health-care program needs some effort. Keeping up with your
fitness routine, preparing a healthy meal, shopping for the right stuff, and planning
your time, all require effort and discipline.
You need self-care most when you are tired, you have to exert yourself so you can
do that thing that you don’t feel like doing. For example, when you feel like you
don’t want to go to the gym, remember that self-care needs effort and discipline.
Force yourself to go to the gym even if you don’t feel like it.
2. Shame
Do you know that self-care brings shame and a feeling of guilt? First, you might feel
ashamed and guilty for failing to do what you know is right for you to do. You might
also feel ashamed just by thinking that you don’t deserve the compassion and care
that you want to offer yourself.
Guilt and shame are toxic elements to self-care and can result in self-loathing.
Sometimes self-care may make you feel like you are self-centered or selfish.
However, this feeling of guilt shouldn’t stop you from doing what’s right. There’s
nothing wrong with loving yourself.
3. Confusion with Self-Care
Don’t let self-care confuse you. The moment you start feeling unhappy or guilty with
your self-care indulgence, then it’s no longer self-care but self-harm, depending on
how you relate with what you are doing. One activity can be helpful to one person
and harmful to the next person.
Take, for example, hitting the gym. For someone who works out to keep fit going to
the gym isn’t a big deal. But if you go to the gym with the aim of losing weight fast,
you may find yourself overdoing it to achieve your goal. This may end up being
harmful to your body. The bottom line is to do things in moderation and not to go
overboard with your self-care program.
4. You May Set Yourself Up for Failure
It is in our character to set goals that we can’t achieve. Not only that, but we also
tend to have high expectations that the efforts we put in can not achieve. That’s why
whenever you embark on a self-care journey, you must have realistic goals and
expectations. Getting frustrated that you can’t achieve your goals can make you give
up.
Conclusion
Self-care is important for your well-being. The earlier you start thinking about it.
Since it touches on your health, don’t wait until it’s too late. To make things easier
for you, choose activities that you like to do and do them in moderation.
Email me at info@soteldotherapy.com
Call for an appointment at 613-400-0128
Comments