Since we’ve spent the past five months discussing the five love languages as they relate to self-care, I bet you’re wondering what I have in store for the reminder of the year. Back in December when I decided to have a monthly self-care focus in 2021, I did some research on various self-care related topics so I’d be prepared. As stated in the title, this month’s focus will be emotional self-care. In the past, in some of my blog post I’ve loosely defined emotional self-care as self-care activities that cater to our emotional well-being. Examples of these self-care ideas are meditation, therapy, in some cases Yoga, and also journaling. When working on the challenges for this week, I was trying to stay away from challenges I’ve covered a few times already in the past. Meaning, I didn’t want to give you the following list:
- Monday-Journaling
- Tuesday-Meditate
- Wednesday- Consider Therapy
You get the idea. The ideas I came up with this week were not necessarily options you can do on command each day. Here’s what I mean, if you don’t usually reach out to someone when they’re going through a difficult time, and I want to encourage you to start doing so. I can’t say on Monday you should start doing that because what if no one needs help on Monday. Do you see what I mean? So instead of challenges this week, I’m providing a list of ways that you can be open to emotional self-care when they present themselves.
Allow Yourself To Cry I know a lot of people who are not comfortable with allowing themselves to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is not a bad thing and it’s not a bad word. I’ve stated in the past that vulnerability is a beautiful thing, its just as beautiful as being strong and it’s not a sign of weakness. I’m not saying you should force yourself to cry, it should come naturally. What I’m saying is, if you feel the need to cry you shouldn’t hold it in. Crying can be very therapeutic and it’s healthy.
Talk/Vent Similar to the above, it’s not healthy to hold stuff in so allow yourself to vent or talk about issues that you’re having. I’m not shaming anyone but I’m not sure what the sense of pride is behind keeping things in that can harm us inside. Maybe it’s not pride, we are all very different people but if you’re being eaten alive by your issues, then it’s a clear sign that you need to let it out.
Listen I think this also caters to your emotional self-care. Allowing room to be a good friend to others is also beneficial for us. Most times people aren’t seeking advice, they just want us to listen while they vent.
Do Some Reflecting When was the last time you sat down and did some reflecting? We can reflect on anything but I feel the most common ways we reflect is on the direction our life is going in, decisions that we’ve made, what we want out of life, is our life going in the right direction, and I think if you’re a parent you may even reflect on the kind of parent that you are, etc. Reflecting is like doing an assessment because it allows you to take inventory and make any necessary changes that you see fit.
Appreciate Silence I love this one because I think silence is a gift. The previous goes hand in hand with silence because I believe reflecting is more effective when it’s done in silence. Noise can be distracting at times and honestly, I think some people run from silence because they are afraid to be alone with themselves.
Be Alone As an ambivert I can appreciate the balance of being alone and around people but I really love being alone because that’s how I replenish and get back to myself. If being alone is not really your thing, at least make sure you have a decent balance between being around people and being by yourself. I dont think it’s healthy to run from yourself. I think some people run from themselves because they are afraid of their thoughts and/or what may come up for them if they don’t have others around to distract them.
Admit When You Need Help Asking for help is okay because we can’t all do everything by ourselves. I tend to struggle with this one a bit because I like instant gratification and when we ask for help, we are on someone else’s time. Even if you don’t feel comfortable asking for help, if someone offers and you need it, dont’ be afraid to say yes.
I hope this week’s suggestions will make it easier for you to be more receptive to being emotional. I don’t understand why the word is so taboo discussing and displaying emotions is not a sign of weakness. Also, connecting with ourselves on emotional level makes us a better person for ourselves and for others and it helps with our emotional intelligence.
Self-Care on the go are essentially bite size versions of my self-care challenges. It’s open to anyone but it’s specifically created for moms and other working women; who may not have time to participate in all (or any) of the challenges that I provide weekly because of their mommy duties or busy work schedule. You can access the infographic HERE. I’ve been posting them every Sunday since the beginning of the year and I really enjoy creating them. If you’re one of my readers who participate in, or enjoy these options because you find them convenient, leave a comment and let me know what you like about them or what you think I should change. Thanks for going on this self-care journey again with me this week.
By the way, if you’re interested, my Newsletter and Self-Care Accountability Worksheet is now available. The worksheet will act as a supplement to my daily self-care challenges. The purpose is to help you stay on track with your daily self-care routines. If you’re interested in receiving these items weekly, email me at tam33ks@yahoo.com. The self-care worksheet is FREE, but will only be available to my Newsletter subscribers. I will NOT spam you, I will only email once per week.
Let’s Chat!
Follow Me:
- Instagram: @selfcareatforty
- Twitter: @playingblogger and @naturaldo
- Pinterest: @tam33ks
Self-Care At Forty 