The Importance of Self-Care

The Importance of Self-Care
Sometimes we think that taking time out of our schedule for self-care can be selfish. But is it really? What can happen if we don’t take the time to look after ourselves? In my blog I will share my journey of discovering the importance of self-care.
Self-Care
At times during my life I have faced some very hard times. Have I always dealt with these challenges in the best way I could have? No, not always. Because of my lack of understanding of the importance of looking after yourself and doing the small things to help you relax and reduce the stress in life, I found myself in hospital. The stress I was experiencing had led my body to take control and force me to stop and take care of myself. My body did this by causing seizures down one half of my body. Initially, this presented by one side of my face seizing up and as a result I was unable to speak or open my mouth.
I was scared! Was I having a stroke? Did I have Bells Palsy? Did I have a brain tumour? Was this epilepsy returning? The doctors in the emergency room could not answer those questions either. So they ran a multitude of tests that still resulted in no answers. During this time the seizures went from being only in my face to the whole right side of my body. My body would seize up and my limbs and face would be contorted for a minute or up to 10 minutes at a time. then it would release. This could happen anywhere from 1 to 2 times every few hours, or it could happen every few minutes. One day I (my husband) recorded over 60 seizures in the day.
That amount of seizures in a day is exhausting to say the least. Let alone how scary it was for myself, my husband and my friends and family. This prompted my doctor to fast track my neurological testing, an EEG (the test they do for epilepsy and other neurological conditions). During this test the specialist observed one of my seizures. This allowed him to make a diagnoses of Pseudo Seizures. Pseudo seizures are a manifestation by the body when under extreme stress. That was a big wake up call for me!!!!
My body had decided for me that I was not listening to it when it was telling me it was tired and needed to rest and take time out to relax and process my emotions rather than trying to ignore them, (I had been feeling stressed, anxious and tired, so I was living on excessive amounts of caffeine and sugar to function and continue working and not dealing with my feelings). I had to re-evaluate my life and what I was doing to myself and ultimately all those around me by not addressing my stress and emotions or dealing with the issues I was avoiding. I learnt very quickly that self-care is not an indulgence of a selfish person, but are actions of a person who cares about the well-being of themselves and those they love. It might sound like a cliche, but if we can’t take care of ourselves, how can we take care of others?
I learnt what was important to me for my self-care and what I needed to help myself relax and re-energise to be the best I could be for myself and those that I love. For me I found lighting a nice candle and being able to sit and watch the flame dance and smell the fragrance of the candle helped me to relax. Enjoying a nice bath with some lovely essential oils and bubbles is nice and relaxing for me. Reading a good book, walking on the beach or in nature near a creek or river, walking my dogs or swinging in the swing at a park.
There are times in our life that make us stop, think and re-evaluate what is important. Understanding the need to take care of my emotional needs and allow myself time to sit relax and unwind was a big part of my journey in life. It showed me that keeping our emotions and stresses to ourselves, keeping them held in and all bottled up, then not dealing with them can have damaging effects on us both mentally and physically.
So take the time out to enjoy a nice walk, to read a good book, have a bath or whatever else you like to do that brings you joy, helps you to relax and stop to appreciate all those little moments in life that make us smile and truly do make our life worth living.