I don’t know about you, but I have a REALLY hard time doing nothing.  If I’m awake, my mind is on and I feel like I need to be productive every moment until I go to bed at night.  If I’m not productive, my inner critic chimes in and makes sure I feel “less than” because I wasted the day away.  

Unfortunately our anxious minds want to be “doing” all the time - and if we aren’t physically active, we sure as heck are mentally active.  But this belief has a negative impact on our nervous system and our overall health.  Pausing to slow down, even just for a breath or two, can make a big difference in how we feel.  Here’s why rest is important and various ways you can start to slow down in your life in order to reduce your nervous system and reduce your anxiety. 

For some reason we all know that self-care is important, but we tend to put it at the bottom of our to-do list. If we can just push through the “important” things, we’ll make time for ourselves … eventually. Right? Yeah, I used to feel that way too, especially when I worked in Corporate America. So, even if you are convinced that self-care is important, I know you have a seriously busy schedule and it might seem impossible to somehow find extra time to squeeze in self-care activities. Thankfully, after struggling with this myself for many years, I figured out how to fit it all in! In today’s blog I’m sharing how to make time for yourself, even with an extremely busy schedule, so that you can make better decisions, be more productive, have healthier relationships, and reduce your overall stress and anxiety.

As I write this blog in June 2021, 41.4% of Americans are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. States are reopening and life seems to be getting back to some sort of “Post-Covid Normal”. Whatever that means. Some people can’t WAIT to get together with friends and hug strangers on the street while other people feel more comfortable staying put in isolation. As the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be shining, you might be wondering why you aren’t as excited to go back to the “way things were.” You miss being around other people in your community, but you just don’t feel ready. I get it! In this blog I share exactly why you might be feeling this way and how you can use mindfulness techniques to figure out how to best take care of yourself during this post-pandemic transition.

“You can’t pour from an empty cup”, is a widely used saying that basically means you can’t take care of other people until you take care of yourself first. Self-care is important. You know that.  So why isn’t it a priority? I get it - you’re busy!  There’s not enough time in the day to get it all done.  Besides, you’re strong and can just push through feeling depleted.  But what if I told you that eventually you can’t?  That eventually your happiness in life will depend on slowing down and doing activities that promote self-care? Here’s a closer look at how depletion impacts your overall health and how self-care gives you the energy and balance you need to make better decisions, have healthier relationships and be happier in life.