When it comes to us looking after ourselves, it’s a balance between work life and our personal life and is definitely not as easy as it looks. In reality, it takes many years for us to hone and fully understand how to look after ourselves and even then some of us won’t get it right.
Looking after ourselves means we not only have to learn how to become independent for the first time, but we also have to look after our emotional and physical health, so that we’re not constantly dealing with illness. Emotions play their part and are instrumental in us staying well.
We should learn how to delegate so that we only take on as much as know we can cope with and ask for help when we need it. We must also learn how to deal with stressful situations, learn how to communicate, as well as learning how to deal with issues that have the potential to blow up and create even more stress.
Learning how to say 'no,' instead of being swayed by other people’s opinions are instrumental in us looking after ourselves. We must learn to stand back so that we're able to better assess and make decisions on stressful situations, as well as look for and seek out a healthier lifestyle.
Lifestyle has always been my top priority. Without a more structured lifestyle I know I know I would struggle. Our lifestyle has to be instrumental, because it determines how well we cope with things. The more organised we are, the easier our lives will be.
Even if the foundations put in place aren’t initially used by our children once they leave home, I believe it’s something they can and will go back to as and when they’re mature and ready to settle into a more balanced lifestyle.
Children tend to have to work through the usual process first. The process you and I went through when we were their age.
I believe stress is one of the biggest problems we face today. Stress can cause all sorts of problems. For example with my diabetes, stress will make my blood sugar level to go up. My problem isn't what I eat but the stress. It also ages us on the inside and outside.
I agree with you that we need to teach our children how to take care of themselves before it is to late. Learning at an early age will help ensure a healthy lifestyle when they are older.
Thanks Lisa. Yes unfortunately we all have stress, we can't live a life without it; but it helps if we have the right tools to deal with it. I hope today's blog helps with that.
I agree with you and also believe stress is the biggest reason for illness and can make existing conditions worse, in your case Diabetes.
This is a great blog and concisely sets out all the things we need to consider to best look after ourselves holistically.
It is difficult to keep on top of all of these things all of the time and I am certainly guilty of letting some slip from time to time. I also believe that a little but of self-indulgence can also help us psychologically too, as long as it is within a framework as you describe.
Thank you! What I have set out is exactly what I do; agree it's not so easy in the beginning but in time it does get easier.
I made a pact with myself years ago when I went through a phase of being ill every month without recovering properly and going from illness to illness that I had to take myself in hand and change the way I did things.
This is definitely a lifestyle change, but one I believe is worth considering. This is exactly what I do. I agree with you that every now and again self-indulgence is a good thing. My mum used to tell me that all the time.
When we're going through tough times, 'a little bit of what we fancy,' can help us psychologically… and can make us feel much better, but should always be done within a framework, as I describe in my blog and as you have pointed out.