Almost every other person I spoke to in March shared their ‘Mad March’ or ‘March Madness’ stories where it was a particularly challenging month for them. If it was all smooth sailing you’ve most likely experienced obstacles at some point in your life.
Like most people, dealing with a few unexpected situations can leave you feeling a little stretched however it’s when ‘sh#*’ hits the fan and seems to snowball that it’s very difficult to come up for air leading to overwhelm and shutdown.
Typically one may experience disconnection; disconnection from responsibility and commitment leading to isolation. Any additional demands become too much and often it’s that little bit extra that tips it over the edge and that ‘stretch’ snaps.
Some signs and symptoms may include headaches, back ache, fatigue or lethargy, shallow breathing, emotional outbursts, crying when asked ‘are you ok’, anxiety, short term depressive tendencies, lack of concentration and any flare ups of other already experienced conditions such as eczema, asthma, insomnia to name a few.
The length of time this experience occurs varies for each of us and it’s important to recognise to begin the ‘clean up’ phase.
Bouncing back from the ‘stretch’n’snap’
I recently received the current issue of Breathe and ironically on page 6 there’s a beautiful article on ‘Love yourself first’. I genuinely stopped typing this blog opened the mail and looked through the index….and there it was staring me in the face. Now I know you’ve probably heard it all before a hundred times over about self-care, self-love and the importance to take time out for you etc and don’t get me wrong, I’m all for it but it gets a bit much sometimes because while you know it, you don’t always feel like you want to, so here’s the thing……until you do, be kind – to yourself, whatever that means for you or ‘ride the wave’ the best you can, until you are able to because self-care looks different for each of us.
Advice is always aplenty but what helps recovery will vary from one person to the next so here’s my suggestion: ‘do what brings you joy’. If that causes a whirl wind of thoughts get yourself a piece of paper and pen, find yourself a comfy place to sit, make yourself a cuppa (or get glass of water) and begin to jot down anything you enjoyed doing in the past – regardless of when. If you’re similar to me you will have already eliminated many options from your list depending on kids, husband/partner, work and sports etc. What’s left may not be your preferred option though it is possibly the best for now and that’s a start. The first step to self-care even if it’s for the interim.
Self-care has profound benefits and without it, health diminishes. It may seem easier to ignore and avoid self-care though what I typically witness in practice is the accumulated pain and suffering.
Science tells us that what we do for ourselves modifies our gene expression and therefore affects future generations. Modelling self-care not only improves our own health it also promotes a culture that extends out to those around us; family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances.
It can be difficult to achieve this on your own because you are not alone and you don’t have to be.
You are your most important asset
Kinesiology is a holistic approach promoting recovery and improved health. Call for an appointment (03) 57229216.