What do you do to self-care?

Funny enough, when in need of taking better care of ourselves, we often turn to the things that give us a quick and immediate pay off, but that may not actually be serving us in the long-term. At times when we look even closer, we realize we are experiencing more consequences than benefits overall.

A good example of this is having a glass of wine at the end of the day or because of a stressful situation.

You take a sip and start to feel an immediate release or as though it’s helping you shut your mind off for a minute. Ahhh. Mission accomplished!

But, as soon as you finish the glass, you feel it’s not quite enough to provide the relief you were hoping for so before you know it, you are pouring yourself a second glass or even a third and the negative impacts start to creep up and emerge, which isn’t improving your situation or your mood.

You might argue with a partner or friend, become impatient with your children, the next morning you might wake up with a headache or you feel irritable and then the whole thing starts again.

Even if you manage to stick to that one glass, alcohol is a depressant, meaning that it slows down brain functioning and neural activity and gradually, it can create more problems. Also a factor to consider is that over time, you can develop a tolerance to alcohol, which means having to consume more to get the same effect you experienced at the beginning and therefore, an increase of these negative effects become more likely.

So what now? I am not saying you have to necessarily give up drinking. I say “necessarily” because each person is different and YOU have to find what works best for YOU.

And I don’t want to lose the focus here. This post isn’t about the effects of alcohol use or how to manage substance use. This is just one of the many examples of how we might use something to feel a rapid sense of pleasure, but that isn’t giving us the real results we are looking for, which was to manage a situation more effectively or to take better care of ourselves and of our well-being.

I believe what is important and more effective, is to get real about what YOU are going through, where YOU are spending most of your energy and what impact this is REALLY having on your life and on YOU.

What are you doing to take care of yourself or to cope with this depleted feeling?

I believe it is worth spending time to invest in yourself and find activities, people or things that actually improve your well-being not only in the short-term, but also in the long-term and in a way that can be included in your daily routine and become a part of your lifestyle.

Finding clarity on your own is not always easy so why not have the courage to ask for help and get some support.

Written by Marie-Josée Marchica