Struggle with self-care?
I find that many people struggle with self-care. There is an epidemic of exhausted women with extreme fatigue, hormonal imbalances, upset tummies and chronic autoimmune or viral diseases.
These women (and sometimes men) have tried to juggle many roles, to totally love and care for our loved ones, to keep house, serve good food, earn money, maintain social lives and save the planet as well.
But we were never built to be superwomen- we do have limits. Women's cultural conditioning is to be selflessly giving, so we often leave ourselves out of the picture, and literally forget to love ourselves, take care of ourselves and respect our limits. We say yes to too many responsibilities. Or, for many, we don't think we are worthy of the love we give others.
In fact, we usually don't discover we even have limits until we have gone way, way past them. Because we can.....up to a point. We do have amazing capacities, we can put ourselves aside, we do have an infinite capacity to love and to care....but our bodies don't have an endless capacity to give. They can and do burn out. And then we lose our spark, our joy. And we drag ourselves through our days.
In order to thrive, we need space and time to be in touch with ourselves. We need good food. We need to be grounded in our bodies, and in touch with the natural world we are part of. Supplements can be very useful to replete deficiencies, restore frazzled nervous systems or rebalance hormones. Herbal allies can be useful. And loving movement...yoga, walking, beach time, weekends away, and therapies that support our own healing.
How our body expresses overwhelm and overexertion, burnout and exhaustion, and overall lack of self-nurturing - is unique to each of us.
Almost all my clients fit this pattern in one way or another - but making an appointment with me is a sign of wanting to take better care of themselves, an intention of better self-care. Most realise it's not necessarily a quick fix.
People want help with how to feel better, literally what to do. I help on both sides- I coach and encourage people to actually take care of themselves better, to take the time to eat better etc- within their current capacity..... I help them get in touch with their inner knowing and deeper longings.
I also guide them in some ways to look after their body, some diet recommendations, some herbs, some supplements, some lifestyle recommendations. Naturopathy includes the whole person, so we also look at the emotional and even spiritual side of life as well.
We look together at what is underlying their symptoms and take the bigger picture and longer term view, as well as dealing with immediate issues, which is usually what motivated them to come along in the first place.
It has certainly been a lifelong journey for me.....to learn to value myself enough to do my self-care daily routines, to have healthy boundaries, to learn my own limits, and to listen to my body, my heart, my inner knowing. And I also get expert advice at times.
I have learned to take care of myself as my first priority, and that gives me the energy and joy to care for others from a place of abundance, not burnout. And I am always learning.
This is what I love to share with others.
