{"id":1263,"date":"2019-12-10T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lunarivervoices.com\/staging\/?p=1263"},"modified":"2020-02-21T20:21:20","modified_gmt":"2020-02-22T01:21:20","slug":"self-care-its-not-for-wimps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lunarivervoices.com\/staging\/retreats\/self-care-its-not-for-wimps\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-care: It’s Not for Wimps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For several weeks I\u2019ve been blogging about retreating, which I define as taking a break from your daily grind to do a little self-care. I\u2019ve offered tips on how to retreat affordably, how to create your own home-based retreat, and expectations for going away on retreat. I\u2019ve also touched on the benefits of retreating, but lately I\u2019ve been reminded through my own experiences why regular self-care is important. And not just regular<\/em> care, but habitual<\/em> care; that is, making self-care routine, not a luxury that you\u2019ll get to when you have time.<\/p>\n

So today, from the Department of Do As I Say and Not As I Do, here\u2019s a little confession: I\u2019ve been neglecting my own self-care for a long time. I blame it on the \u201cLife Happens\u201d mantra, which is really just an excuse because life always happens. There is no life doesn\u2019t<\/em> happen except when you\u2019re dead. It follows, then, that there is also no \u201cright time\u201d to start doing self-care so it is pointless to wait for one.<\/p>\n

Finding the \u201cright time\u201d to make important changes in our lives that promote self-care keeps us in the rut of habits that don\u2019t lead us where we want to go nor help us feel better about ourselves. Nor to get you through those Life Happens Moments. You know the ones I\u2019m talking about. When the big-ass fans of life blow doo-doo everywhere; when a droplet of rain turns into a typhoon; when you\u2019re up the Suwannee without a paddle\u2014or even a boat!<\/p>\n

For 3.5 years I worked for Multinational Household Name, enduring not only a hostile coworker but a sociopathic manager. Manager regularly talked smack about team members and customers during our weekly one-on-ones. One minute she\u2019d say how much she loved Elvis and Jesus and the next she\u2019d go into a rant about a fantasy she had of stabbing to death her ex-boss from a previous company. I am not making this up.<\/p>\n

Systematically, she persecuted everyone she didn\u2019t like. I was number five on her list. Working with Manager and Coworker was like being stuck in an endless season of Mean Girls High School. Their behavior infected the whole team\u2014across the continent and overseas.<\/p>\n

I had good days, but overall I suffered from anxiety, self-doubt, and paranoia. I started losing sleep, my blood pressure rose, and I snapped at my husband all the time. My self-care routine of getting up early to meditate stopped because I needed to squeeze every ounce of sleep I could out of restless nights in order to endure another day of nastiness. In fact, I gave up on meditating at all because quieting my mind became more difficult; it kept wanting to replay the latest episode of Mean Girls Multinational Household Name. The job was killing me in many ways, and I stopped doing self-care when I needed it the most!<\/em><\/p>\n

Gradually, I started meditating again to calm the nerves and praying for a better job. Eventually, Manager left me no choice but to quit. So why did I put up with it for so long?<\/p>\n