In our daily lives, many of us tend not to prioritize our mental and emotional health. With our many obligations and interests all vying for our time, sometimes our health is sacrificed. What is at stake is our inner peace, and for those of us living with addictions and mental health issues, culminating a sense of inner peace is paramount to our healing and recovery.
Many of us tend to prioritize other people and things over ourselves. Our families, relationships, obligations and responsibilities all take up so much of our time that we are often left with little to no time for ourselves. Sometimes we subconsciously make the choice to prioritize other things because we have a hard time facing ourselves. Sometimes our anxiety builds up so much that we end up feeling overwhelmed, stressed, panicked, even burned out. We can experience a crash, breakdown or depressive episode.
When we make time for self-care, we are prioritizing our wellbeing. We are telling ourselves that we matter, that we are important, that we love ourselves. Self-focus and self-love are often challenging for people, especially those of us with addictions and mental health issues. When we set the intention to take care of ourselves, we are taking an important step in our healing process. Every small step we take adds up and contributes to our wellbeing. Every act of self-care is part of our healing journey.
Giving time to self-care allows us to explore our inner selves. When we get quiet within ourselves, we will inevitably be confronted with the long-term issues we haven’t yet resolved, our unhealed trauma, and our underlying fears. Sometimes the reason we neglect self-care is because we are avoiding these painful things. We hide from them, and bury them under distractions. Sometimes we use our obligations as an excuse not to face them. When we prioritize self-care, we are making a commitment to ourselves to work on our healing.
When we spend more time tending to our inner peace, we have much more to give. We have more to offer the world and to the people around us. Stress and overwhelm limit our capacity to give. Self-care allows us to feel replenished and rejuvenated, giving us more energy for the people and things we care about. Giving ourselves time for self-care is reaffirming our commitment to ourselves. These acts of self-love make us stronger and more empowered to give to ourselves and to others.
We can all use help providing ourselves with the self-care we need. Let the community at Vista Taos offer its support. Call (575) 586-5078
