Self Care 101

I've been doing a lot of thinking and reading about self care lately. I came across this rather interesting checklist from a University of Michigan employee assistance site. How well do you fare when you answer the questions? My answers are italicized.

Self Care Checklist

Are you taking good care of yourself—body, mind, and spirit? Review the list below to see how well you're doing and how to do better.

How well do you care for your physical health?

• Eat a well-balanced diet. (Well, yes - if last night's Dilly Bar and tonight's Death by Chocolate ice cream cone each balance out all of the healthy food I've eaten this past two days.) 
• Get adequate sleep. (I am a night hawk - I could do better on this one.)
• Have periods of physical rest and relaxation. (Definitely, just figuring out this concept.)
• Get regular physical exercise. (If gardening counts as exercise, then yes.)
• Keep your weight at a healthy level. (Give or take ten pounds. Generally take.)
• Get regular mental exercise (e.g., reading, music, puzzles). (Yup, I read for hours every day.)
• Attend to your own health needs. (Well, I floss. That must count for something.)

How well do you care for your emotional health?

• Talk about your feelings, both positive and negative. (Ad Nauseum.)
• Use coping strategies for stress, anxiety, and frustration. (Leaning, learning, learning.)
• Remind yourself of the good things in your life. (Gratitude is my life's blood.)
• Laugh a lot. (With friends like mine, how could I not?)
• Practice being a positive, encouraging person. (I do practice, probably need to do more.)
• Find balance between your work and personal life. (Currently, yes. Of course being on stress leave for four months helps here.)
• Take time for rest and relaxation. (See above.)

How well do you care for your interpersonal well-being and friendships?

• Have close friends and confidants. (Blessed with what feels like billions of these.)
• Take time to enjoy activities with others. (Yup. We spend a lot of time doing food activities.)
• Give back to others. (Yes, but currently trying to hold on to a reasonable amount for myself rather than give it all away).

How well do you care for your spiritual health?

• Pay attention to your spiritual needs. (Prayer, meditation, faith in the Hockey Gods right now.)
• Spend time thinking about the things which bring peace, beauty and serenity to your life. (Amen.)
• Follow your own spiritual path (religious or not). (Yes to the Not part.)

My self care regimen looks pretty good on "paper." But I can probably do better. In fact, I think I will.

Chasing Adrenaline

Today I was startled to find that the satin ribbon in my Meditations For Women Who Do Too Much  marks February 27th as the last day that I read anything from this book. It seems somewhat ironic that so much time has lapsed when my entire life is currently devoted to slowing down and meditating.Yet, for some reason I haven't taken time to perform my formerly daily ritual of reading these lovely meditations written by Anne Wilson Schaef.

I am not sure if my neglect in this matter it is a good or a bad thing. Have I been too busy? If so - bad. Or have I been so relaxed that I haven't needed my daily fix? If so - isn't that good?

In any case, it is somewhat fortuitious that today when I finally found time to pick up the book, the daily meditation was focused on something that I have been thinking about. Well, to be honest, I haven't been thinking about it so much as listening to my dear friend *J* talk about it. The concept, or topic, was addiction to adrenaline, related to workaholism. I'm still busy trying to relax, so haven't given much needed attention to my workaholism problem. I do know that I need to start thinking about it. For now, *J* is reading a book on workaholism and sharing what she learns with me. Quite efficient on my part, don't you think?

Back to the meditation...here is what Schaef provided for today:

April 13

Adrenaline/Busyness

"They sicken of the calm who know the storm." (Dorothy Parker)

Ah, that adrenaline rush! How we love it! We are so accustomed to dealing with crisis that we get nervous when things get calm.

Many women who are recovering from workaholism and doing too much are beginning to recognize that they have become addicted to their own adrenaline rush. We used to get a "buzz" with the excitement of a new project or an impending deadline. We functioned best under pressure (or so we believed). We got nervous and tense when our lives became too quiet. We needed the emotional arousal. We needed our fix.

Fortunately we began to see that our adrenaline rushes were exhausting our bodies and our beings. Our addiction to our own adrenaline was as destructive to our bodies as drugs or alcohol. Recovery from adrenaline addiction has been a slow, painful process. Yet, we have the hope of a new life and the possibility of living it in a healthy body.

I have discovered that what I used to call numbness

may just be contentment, and contentment feels great.

Interesting. I'll have to think about this.