Taking care of yourself doesn't mean "me first" it means "me too"- L. R. Knosts
So many of us are givers. We give our heart, our energy & our time to those we love most! Sometimes all this giving starts to be too much and what once brought us joy is now overwhelming .
The emotional signs of burn out include:
- Feelings of defeat or failure
- A negative cloud takes over your life perspective
- Loss of motivation
- Feeling alone
- Overall decrease in life satisfaction
On a scale from 1-10, 10 being BURNT OUT, where are you right now?!
I used to sit on my therapist's red couch and cry. I'd say... look- I'm doing all those "self-care" assignments and it's like adding rain drops to a dried out well. 💦 How is this ever going to get better?! Me, a trained mental health therapist, had lost the buy in for a simple self-care routine?!?! My emotional burn out was far beyond something a simple bike ride could fix.
However, I realized I was missing the point. DUH! Sensational "self-care" has become one more task to put on your "to do list" and feel like it's your fault when you don't feel replenished by it.
But TRUE self-care is reprioritizing the YOU in your life. Meaning... prioritizing your basic necessities like eating, sleeping, movement and carving out time for FUN and JOY in your life. It means says "no" , reevaluating your expectations, letting others opinions of you go, asking a partner or coworker for help & even canceling a last minute engagement for the maintenance of your sanity.
But truth be told this take courage, vulnerability and consistent check ins on YOU. It's a work in progress every day (with some slip ups)! Enlisting a person you trust to help with check ins has been key for me. This morning my best friend informed me I was doing that thing again - that thing where I put myself last. 🙈🙊 Dang it! She was right!!! Time to reprioritize!
To add in the ME TOO into your life is to Live Moore!!!
-Nikki Moore