As a mom in this pandemic season, there is a lot to manage on a day to day basis on top of all of that I am moving forward to create. Self care is vital during this time because I am pouring into not only my family. I am pouring into my church community and this online community. So I have to take intentional time to take care of myself and “fill my cup” if you will.
Before I share how I take care of myself, I wanted to share the definition of self care with the help of my amazing friend, Kyla from Discovering Mabuhay. This busy mom of one is working from home while still managing to keep her toddler entertained. I admire her strength and creativity as she navigates this pandemic.
I asked Kyla to share what she’s been doing this season as we shelter in place. I love how open and honest she is!
- What is self care?
Self care is taking care of your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual needs. - How are you taking care of yourself during this shelter in place season?
When I’m ‘on top of my game’:- Physical – 1 minute of deep breathing, 10 minute dance party with my toddler, taking a walk;
- Mental – mindfulness, taking a break from work, watching a mindless comedy; taking in moments of Zen, recognizing nature;
- Emotional – speaking to yourself lovingly, quality family time playing a game;
- Spiritual (how I connect with Spirit/God; or reach toward my Higher Self) – prayer, meditation, listing what I’m grateful for
- Physical – 1 minute of deep breathing, 10 minute dance party with my toddler, taking a walk;
- What are your tips for those of us who are starting to feel stir crazy/cabin fever?
- Remember that we may not all be in the same boat, but we are in the same storm. Give yourself grace if you are having a hard time.
- Schedule your frustration/fear, don’t fight it. Give yourself 15 minutes to freak out. Then let it move you in a productive direction.
- Carve out time to connect with nature. For me, sometimes that just means sitting on my front porch with my son for and notice how the leaves of our tree move in the wind for 10 minutes
- Find the humor where you can. Laugh at yourself when you can. Don’t poke fun at your quarantine partners, unless you have that sort of relationship!
- Find gratitude where you can. Every day is transformative. My husband and I gather almost daily to list what we’re thankful for with our 2 year old. It’s never to early to instill these practices!
- Remember that we may not all be in the same boat, but we are in the same storm. Give yourself grace if you are having a hard time.
- What is your favorite routine/thing to do for yourself?
(Honestly still figuring this out!)- At the moment, my weekly hour to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race. (I think drag queens are restoring joy during a tough time!)
- Participating in virtual Happy Hours with friends is huge for me, too. This helps me realize how many other people are experiencing very similar feelings
- At the moment, my weekly hour to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race. (I think drag queens are restoring joy during a tough time!)
Address it now
I want to be honest just like Kyla and say that sometimes I forget to take care of myself. When I do take time for myself, I do simple things that I know help my physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. I decided at the beginning of this pandemic season, that I wouldn’t numb my emotions with excessive shopping, alcohol, drugs, or anything that helps me get an instant relief without really getting to the root of that emotion. It hasn’t been an easy few months but I know that I’m helping myself in the long run. If I don’t address the feeling now, I will eventually feel a heaviness in my mental space and probably a new symptom in my body.
My favorite self care tips and tricks
I have a handful of things I do for myself and I want to share them with you just in case you are struggling with how to take care of yourself during this season. Know that everyone has different ways of taking care of themselves so if yours looks different from mine – that’s ok. God made us unique so we will all “fill our cup” in different ways.
- Physically
- Quick 10-15 minute yoga stretches
- It seems like my shoulders and back are very tense during this season. So I have learned different ways of relieving the tension.
- Belly breathing
- I have always been a shallow breather. So I’m still learning how to take deep breathes and really focus on expanding my lungs as much as I can.
- Naps
- Sometimes a nap is the answer to so many of my needs. So I take them – unapologetically.
- Quick 10-15 minute yoga stretches
- Mentally
- Remembering feelings aren’t facts
- I am going to write an entire post about this! Your feelings are subjective to your personal experiences and can be different from others. So knowing that feels are facts helps differentiate what is real and what is an emotional response.
- I am doing the best I can.
- I have created an enormous amount of expectations on myself in the past and sometimes those expectations creep back in. So I continue to remind myself that I am doing the best I can in this current situation.
- Remembering feelings aren’t facts
- Emotionally
- I feel my feelings.
- In order to understand what is going on with me, I have to identify what the feelings is. Once I am able to name it, I can then tackle it in a constructive way.
- I ask for help.
- This is a big one! I never used to ask for help because of my ego and pride. Now I ask for help all the time! This has allowed me to provide others the opportunity to use their talents to help me move through my feelings and process.
- I find truth in my emotions.
- Our emotions lie to us! They take past experiences to define current events. Most of the time we are reacting instead of responding. Yes I will write a post about this too. Once I know why I feel an emotion, I search for the facts and evidence that is real in the current situation.
- I ask for hugs.
- Yes we cannot receive hugs from people outside of our homes but we can ask for hugs from those inside our homes right now. Hugs helps me tremendously when I am an emotional wreck. So I ask for hugs often in my house. You can read about the scientific evidence that goes along with the benefits of hugs.
- I feel my feelings.
- Spiritually
- Start my day off with a daily devotion
- Our church is doing daily video devotionals right now. I’d love for you to join me first thing in the morning! It helps me get my mind in the right place when I listen to God’s word.
- Reach out for support from our church
- Asking for others to pray for you or even if you need a helping hand builds a community of like minded people around you. I check in with church friends and they do the same for me. It helps me know I am not alone even when I feel like it.
- Listen to worship music
- Sometimes I go for a drive, crank up my praise and workship playlist and remember that today is a blessing even in pandemic season. Music can heal the soul. So I listen to worship music daily.
- Here is my praise and worship playlist.
- Start my day off with a daily devotion
What are your favorite ways to fill your cup? I’d love to hear it! Please comment below on your favorite tips and tricks.
And remember – it’s ok to not be ok! Tomorrow is a new day.
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