Taking Stock- Self-Care Tuesday

If you live in the US, Thanksgiving is this week.  It can be a wonderful holiday, filled with family and food....it can also be horrific (let's be honest).  If you work as an advocate, this holiday can mark an upswing in crisis calls.  When you're already stressed out at work and in life, it can be incredibly difficult to be able to find what you are thankful for.  So rather than ask you to create a list of all of those items that you are happy about, I am going to ask you to do something a little different.  Let's just check in with how YOU are feeling today.

It would be preferable if you can do this laying down in a darkened room.  If you don't think that you will be able to do this exercise without falling asleep, that is a sign that you have a sleep deficient.  An alternative would be to do this sitting up in a chair.  Find a quiet space, close your eyes, and bring your attention to how you are breathing today. Once you feel lulled into a quiet thinking space by focusing on your breathing, start to notice what is happening in your body right now.  Starting from the top of your head, notice how your jaw, neck and shoulders are feeling.  Are you clenching your teeth?  Do you notice that one shoulder is higher/tighter than the other? Do both of your shoulders feel like they are trying to take up the space just below your ears?  Let you attention focus downwards.  How does your back feel, your torso?  Do your hips feel tight, the back of your legs, how about your feet?  Remember to keep breathing through this exercise.  If you mind starts to wander, that's okay, just try to refocus on acknowledging how your body feels at this moment.  You'll find that the deeper you breathe while doing this 'noticing' exercise, parts of your body will release a little bit of the tension.

It is all well and good to tell people to relax and practice self-care- the reality of following that recommendation can be very different. In our fast paced world most people automatically start to add a list of things that they should be doing in addition to wha

t they are managing on a day to day basis.  So if your schedule is already packed, trying to add in 3 hours a week of exercise or eating healthier seems impossible....especially if that means you would have to sleep less in order to get everything done.  Self-care has to be workable for YOU.  So if all you can do is give yourself a few moments to check in with your body, only to notice where you are holding tension, that's enough.  Noticing where we hold tension in our body is the first step to being able to figure out what we need to do in order to relax.  Sometimes releasing the tension in your shoulder isn't done by an hour on the treadmill, but by simply saying "no" to a meeting at work that really isn't important for you attend.

How often do you say "no" to requests in your life?  It can be hard to say no to begin with in high stress situations, let alone in the average day in the office.  For this next week, try to say "no" more often in the workplace.  Wait to take on new projects.  Don't add anything new to your plate.  See if that helps a little with your regular stress level.

Find places where you can delegate tasks in your work and personal life.  This can be a bit frustrating at first.  If you've ever tried to teach a 4-year-old how to make a sandwich, you've realized that it would be alot faster to just do it yourself.  But a 4-year-old that can make a sandwich will become a helpful 10-year-old eventually.   A little investment in the beginning can make a huge difference down the road.  Are there things that you are willing to let go of and let others do their own way?