We are nearly at the end of another year – and I am sure that many of you reading this blog are looking forward to some time off over the summer holidays. It is a great chance to have a break, rest and recharge before the new year arrives. There is however still a few more weeks until the anticipated Christmas break. At this point, the logical thing seems to be to just keep going, push through and then figure out how to rest and recharge once the holidays start.
Keeping on pushing through and tackling problems seems to make sense, as a well-needed break is seemingly all we need to recoup energy for the new year. However, does it ever actually work out that way? Do you even get the chance to properly rest and recover over the break? And if you do, do you find that you continue to feel tired and fatigued into the new year? And do you then keep pushing through and find yourself saying the same thing at the end of the next year, and the year after that?
Taking care of yourself as well as others
If the above describes you, you are likely not the only one. Societal norms and demands of life can so often mean that you place your own well-being at the bottom of the priority list. That you deem your needs as less important and seek to provide for the needs of those around you. That you miss out on valuable opportunities to take care of yourself throughout the year as you seek to serve others. That by doing so, you are either at risk of burning out, your stress leaking out onto the people around you, or utilising unhealthy coping strategies (or all three).
Now this blog by no means is an instructional piece on how to take better care of yourself. It is more a call for you to reflect on the need to engage in self-care to rest and recharge before the start of another year. Or even more so, to give you permission to acknowledge your needs and take steps towards a better balance. Permission for you to acknowledge that sometimes taking care of yourself can be the best way to serve those around you.
Our team of psychologists here at the Centre For Effective Living can help you if you are wanting to improve your ability to take care of yourself.
Michelle Dean (M Clin Psych, BA (Hons – First Class), brings her genuine care and compassion for people, along with her keen insight and analytical abilities to her work. Michelle is registered with Medicare and is also an approved practitioner in the NSW Workers Compensation System.
Through her various roles, she has developed a deep understanding of how these difficulties develop and impact on people in different life stages. Michelle has been able to assist her clients in developing skills to manage their anxiety and depression, along with enabling them to develop a healthy sense of self and greater self confidence. Michelle is a high calibre and compassionate professional and she is wonderful at being able to see the complexities of a clinical presentation and bring her therapeutic work down to a manageable and structured approach.