The art of self-care: nurturing your physical well-being and taking steps to really look after yourself is important to all people, but especially to parents and Carers of children with Leukemia. It is something I ask each and every one of you to make a promise to yourself to start doing. Will you do it? In this fast-paced and demanding world we live in, it is crucial to prioritise our well-being and practice self care. Amidst the pressure of work, relationships, and personal responsibilities, neglecting ourselves can lead to exhaustion, burnout, and even physical and mental health issues. Not to mention that unhappiness can become a part of life whether you like it or not. In this article I concentrate on the physical aspects of self-care and what you can do to look after yourself while other articles will be dedicated to emotional and mental well-being.
It is Not Selfish to Put Yourself First for Once!
I know it can be difficult if you are the kind of person who looks after everyone else first, but self-care is not selfish no matter what you tell yourself and it’s time you started believing that. It is an essential investment in our overall health and happiness so why not spend a few minutes or more investing in yourself? By consciously adopting healthy habits and making time for self-nurturing activities, we can rejuvenate our mind, body, and soul. This article explores the significance of self-care and provides practical tips for looking after yourself in a holistic manner. You should start today, in fact, start right now, grab a coffee, sit down and read this article.
Prioritise Physical Health
Taking care of your physical health is fundamental to overall well-being. It involves making conscious choices regarding nutrition, exercise, sleep, hygiene and the simple act of drinking water. Nourishing your body with a balanced diet rich in whole foods, vitamins, and minerals, helps maintain energy levels and supports optimal functioning along with giving yourself the best protection against the disease states associated with poor nutrition or bad diets.
The Benefits of Exercise
Regular exercise not only keeps your body fit but also releases endorphins, promoting emotional well-being, it also fosters feelings of pride in what you are accomplishing and when you feel good about yourself, you are generally a happier person. Which is the first step in loving yourself. Start slow, such as going for a walk and work your way up to more strenuous activities, which might include going to the gym, playing a sport, running, dancing etc. If you are exercising outdoors you have the added bonus of getting Vitamin D from being outside in the sun. Vitamin D is perfect to help support your immune system, a daily dose of 20 mins or so out in the sunlight, goes a long way to aid your body in fighting off illness before it takes hold.
Sleep To Revitalise Your Body, Mind and Soul
When was the last time you got enough sleep? It is essential for restoration and rejuvenation and helps to ensure your optimal cognitive performance. How many of you are attempting to function on less than 8 hours sleep per night? Sleep is recognised as being a major aid for your body to recover from everyday stresses but also from illness, it assists in repairing cells overnight and helps retain focus and clarity of mind.
Note to self, listen to your own advice. I’m not the best at getting enough sleep and most definitely need to work something out to get more. I barely get 5 hours sleep per night at the moment because I’m not just a Carer for my adult daughter nowadays, I also do a lot with looking after the 4 children and we barely get a minute’s peace. Which means I also need to take time out for myself to have some kind of a breather and that is often late at night. I’m sure that once they are a bit older, things will change again but in the meantime, I should really take at least one night a week to get a good night’s sleep.
Good Hygiene Equals a Positive Self-Image and Excellent Health
Maintaining good hygiene, such as keeping up with dental care and personal grooming, contributes to self-confidence and positive self-image and prevents a decline in physical health. Apparently having poor oral hygiene can lead to many problems from toxicity because the toxins from poor dental hygiene for example end up back in your body as you swallow your saliva. Your mouth contains a lot of bacteria that can lead to illness if left unchecked. Heart disease, Diabetes and Cancer have been linked to poor oral hygiene. If you have heard of Oil Pulling before, I highly recommend adding this to your daily routine. More information on this should be found in other articles on my website once I get a chance to write them.
Hydrate Your Way to Health
Water intake is a key factor in continued physical health as well. Making sure you drink water regularly can help with weight control and also in creating an optimal environment for cellular functioning. This is such a crucial requirement for overall health and in fact, it is so important that you can’t live for more than 3 days on the whole without water. So I’d say that’s a pretty good reason to make sure you are drinking enough. Water makes up approximately 60% of the human body, therefore we are preventing dehydration of our cells and organs, not just feeling thirsty when we have the proper hydration. Water is so important I’ll be devoting other articles to bring about more understanding.
The most commonly suggested intake of water is around 8 glasses per day. Tap water probably isn’t your best source of water nowadays unless you have a filter on it because there are some not so pleasant chemicals, pesticides, bacteria, waste products, and heavy metals that often get into the water supply, and some are even put there by design, such as Fluoride. If you don’t have a filter, might I suggest investing in one to maintain optimal health and hydration.
If you’re not a fan of plain water, you can always add some slices of organic fruit such as lemon or lime, or mint leaves. Some essential oils can be used in drinking water too. I personally use Young Living for my oil drops in water, particularly the citrus ones such as Grapefruit, Lemon, and Lime. See the wellness range which have been approved for internal use. They also have Vitalyte drops that are amazing in replacing fizzy drinks such as sodas and soft drinks. You can do a search for the name once you follow the link here. Now you can say goodbye to excess sugary drinks once and for all. Your body will thank you immensely.
You Can’t Expect to Do it All at Once
To do everything all at once might seem impossible, but start with a few things, or even just one, to begin the process. You don’t have to do all of it in the first moments you attempt to make changes. Like I said in the introduction, start now by simply making a coffee, tea or some other kind of beverage, perhaps a glass of wine, or try my suggested essential oils in water, and sitting down to read this article. If you haven’t already, go back over the article’s main points and take some notes about what you could do now or in the next few days to change things. Then try to sort them into some kind of order and action you can take. I find drawing columns on a sheet of paper and writing the headings “Now”, “Soon” and “Later” helpful. Then you have the beginnings of a plan to bring about your own self-care program. By prioritising self-care and adopting healthy habits, we can nurture our overall well-being and live a more balanced and fulfilling life. Remember that self-care is not a one-time event but an ongoing commitment to yourself, don’t cut corners and don’t skimp on how long you give yourself.
There is an Art to Self-Care: Nurturing Your Well-Being Really Comes Down to You, and You Being Aware That You Need it, and Your Willingness to Do It!
In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it’s easy to overlook our own needs and well-being. However, neglecting self-care can have significant consequences on our physical, emotional, and mental health. Becoming aware of the need to look after your well-being and what it might look like once you realise that you might not be providing for your own self care, is the first step to fixing the problem. We’ve covered only the topic of nurturing your physical well being in this article, but please do go and check out the links to the other articles to enhance your experience of learning how to provide your own self-care.
I hope you have found this article useful. Let me know in the comments what you are doing for your own self-care. Do you have any other suggestions you can offer my readers to help them too? If you are a parent or Carer of a child with Leukemia, I wish you the best of luck and success in your journey back to wellness.
Thank you
Warm Wishes and I hope to see you back here soon.
Ange
🙂
