One funeral last night. One funeral tonight. One funeral (of a church member) that I'm skipping today, because I can't do two in one day. And my neighbor had to put her old dog to sleep.
Back when I fell to pieces, several years ago, I made a physical list of self-care strategies to use before the medication and therapy kicked in. It had to be a physical list--I was in a state where I simply couldn't hold anything in my head. And at the beginning some of these seemed rather silly. Hold ice cubes? (I got that one out of a book. It seemed ridiculous, but it helped.) Read romance novels? (It was not the time for serious literature.) One of my best friends sent me regular care packages of excellent chocolate, whack sci-fi novels, and yarn.
Self-care seems about the only way to get through the next few days. So:
-hot baths
-lavendar oil
-massages
-comfortable clothes
-books you love and almost know by heart
-books that employ only 10% of your brain
-big glasses of water; small glasses of wine
-dogs
-naps
-soup
-herbal neck wraps you can heat in the microwave, that lay heavy on your neck
-heavy blankets
-chocolate
-mild exercise
-handknit socks
-spinning (yarn, not the exercise class)
-weaving (yarn, not the horse vice)
-friends who don't ask questions
-walks outdoors
Take your pick, and live it up. It's the only choice we have.
What else works for you?
Back when I fell to pieces, several years ago, I made a physical list of self-care strategies to use before the medication and therapy kicked in. It had to be a physical list--I was in a state where I simply couldn't hold anything in my head. And at the beginning some of these seemed rather silly. Hold ice cubes? (I got that one out of a book. It seemed ridiculous, but it helped.) Read romance novels? (It was not the time for serious literature.) One of my best friends sent me regular care packages of excellent chocolate, whack sci-fi novels, and yarn.
Self-care seems about the only way to get through the next few days. So:
-hot baths
-lavendar oil
-massages
-comfortable clothes
-books you love and almost know by heart
-books that employ only 10% of your brain
-big glasses of water; small glasses of wine
-dogs
-naps
-soup
-herbal neck wraps you can heat in the microwave, that lay heavy on your neck
-heavy blankets
-chocolate
-mild exercise
-handknit socks
-spinning (yarn, not the exercise class)
-weaving (yarn, not the horse vice)
-friends who don't ask questions
-walks outdoors
Take your pick, and live it up. It's the only choice we have.
What else works for you?
Finding a river/lake/bay/ocean to sit by and stare at the water.
ReplyDeleteDuring the furlough, I hunkered down with some cross stitching and mindless romantic comedies (I watched the same one 4 times). I also love the smell of my Aveda rosemary-mint shampoo; it's like a mini mind cleanser every morning. Friends who are family and know all of your idiosyncracies and love you anyway. Homemade mashed potatoes or mac-n-cheese. Baking something that needs kneading or rolling out.
ReplyDeleteRosemary-mint is awesome; I also like tea tree oil. Sarah, I need to visit you. I'm so glad you get to be by the ocean every day. We were all about Downtown Abbey for self-comfort, except Katie is now totally grieving the loss of Matthew Crawley, so that's not helping.
ReplyDeleteOh, I would so love to have you here.
ReplyDelete