Time to think about self-care

Let’s face it, our lives can be busy. There’s no denying it. There’s definitely a lot to do in a day. It is exhausting for anyone. It is difficult sometimes to have to juggle work, school, family life, and anything else we may have going on in our lives. This may not be much of a surprise.

For those with ADHD/ADD, this is true as well. However, there is a slight difference. Having ADHD/ADD can be exhausting all on its own. Not only are we trying to juggle everything in our day-to-day lives, like everyone else, but we are also trying to make sure we’re focusing on what we’re supposed to be focusing on, that we’re remembering everything, that we’re paying attention, and the list goes on.

For those of you who are reading this and have ADHD/ADD, I know that you understand what I’m saying. We can all imagine how tired we are. We can relate. You guys know the drill.

It is exhausting, and it’s not easy.

So, last week, I think this exhaustion just hit me. A week ago from last Sunday, I felt like I needed a nap. I went to lie down a bit. I wasn’t really focusing on things, during the week. Then, a week ago Thursday, after going on a field trip with my little guy, the fatigue really hit me. I couldn’t deny that I was exhausted, and I needed to rest.

So, last Friday, I decided to take a break. I needed to take care of myself a bit. I decided to take a step back, and just relax a little more.

Let’s face it, there are times, when we all need to do this. We do need to practice some self-care. As much as we want to focus and get things done, we do need to pay attention to our bodies and ourselves as well. We can’t ignore our bodies forever. We can’t ignore our emotions forever. Mine had caught up with me, and really needed my attention.

So here are a few things that I did to focus on myself, things that I did to take care of myself a bit.

Number 1: Sleep
So, the first thing is I slept in a bit more. I didn’t worry too much about waking up earlier, before the kids, so that I could have time to myself or time to wake up. Sure, I woke up a bit earlier, when I had to make some lunches, but not as early as I was last week, for instance. I was focused on getting more sleep.
It was so nice being in bed until almost 7, as opposed to being up at 5, during the weekend. Yes, I know some sleep in later and this is still early, but this still made a huge difference for me. I still slept later than usual, which was kind of the point.

Number 2: Put on some makeup
Okay, this may not apply for everyone and I know some people put on makeup all the time.
However, I’m not someone who does put on makeup all the time or everyday. But over the last few days, I have put one a little make up a little more. Usually it’s just been foundation and lipstick, but that’s a lot more than what I put on most days.
So, it kind of made me feel kind of good. But that’s just me.

Number 3: Breathing
Yes, I know. We all breathe. But that’s not exactly what I mean. I’m more talking of breathing exercises.
Whenever I felt that I was a little overwhelmed or anxious, I would just stop, close my eyes, and just focus on my breath. I would focus on breathing in and out.
This would certainly help me quite a bit. It’s something that I will probably continue to do. It is helpful.

Number 4: Getting some exercise
Okay so for me, exercise is usually just walking. I do love to walk. And so I made sure that I would go for a walk and be outside a little everyday.
This wasn’t too difficult for me, as I walk to drop off my son at daycare and I did take my kids to the park. So, I did get some walking done. Sometimes, I will even go for a small walk while they’re at school or daycare, but this time I didn’t. But at least, I still did get some walking done.

These are just some things that I would do. These definitely helped to focus on me.

Obviously, we’re all different. So, what I do for self-care will differ to what someone else does with regards to self-care. But these are just some suggestions, and some things that we can do. There are a lot more things that we can do to take care of ourselves.

At the end of the day, we all need to do things for ourselves. Sure, we can try to focus on things that we need to do and focus on others, but at the end, we might run out of steam. I know I did, which is what lead me to taking a step back, not focus on certain things, and just focus on getting some rest.

And to be honest, I’m sure glad I did. I need the rest, and needed to step away from this blog and other things. It’s something I might do again. Every so often, I’ll take a day and just focus on getting some rest, relaxing, and just taking a step back.

Picture credit Pixabay