Self care, it’s not just for therapists
Last year I completed my Masters degree in Social Work as part of my ongoing pursuit of personal and professional development. I was fortunate to be accepted to the program at the University of Michigan which, at the time, had been the #1 program in the country for 11 years. (While I was there it dropped to #2 but I steadfastly believe there was no connection between the two events.)
Going back to school was one of the best ideas and, by the time I was done, best experiences of my life. I received my bachelor’s degree quite a bit further back in my past so I came back to school as a “non-traditional” student. I cannot believe the difference the time made in both my outlook and my ability to be a student.
However this post is not really to talk about my time in school. Rather I wanted to bring up a subject that I hadn’t used words to define before I get back into school. It’s not on any class list, it’s not a requirement for graduation and it’s most definitely not just for students. The magic words are “Self Care”.
In my last post I talked about slowing down and a significant part of self care is, in essence, slowing down at least long enough to take a careful look at your life and then make sure you have some time in it for yourself. I have been a major, if quiet, advocate for self care for some time now. I very much like the premise behind the tight rope walkers’ dilemma: If you are not in balance you will find it very difficult to help someone else recover their balance.
Make time for yourself to take care of yourself. It’s so very easy to get caught up in day to day life and lose track of our personal needs. This does not mean ignoring tasks and obligations that need to get done. Those research papers did not write themselves and neither did the litter box clean itself . However there is always time in the day to tend your personal needs.
Most of the articles are directed at Psychology grad students, however the basic concepts be generalized across a wide range of people. The Wikipedia is a nice, concise discussion of the subject with links to a variety of resources.
So take a few minutes to yourself, read this post and then check out the links. You might find some new motivation to help maintain your motivation.
http://ssw.umich.edu/
http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2011/03/matters.aspx
http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2006/09/cover-strength.aspx
http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2005/03/cover-balance.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_care
Carry on.