Weaving joy in times of stress
Article published in Northampton Living
(November 2020)
EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR
PATRICIA YOUNG
Pelvic Health and Orthopedics
Therapy and Wellness Center
+1 413 387 0722
office.restorept@gmail.com
restorewell.com
When one examines the multitude of factors that elicit pain in our bodies and in our relationships, we can observe a delicate thread that becomes snagged deep in our nervous system when we do not practice self-care. Taking care of ourselves has never been more important or more challenging in the face of the pandemic.
There are the constant whispers of self-judgment that can convince us that we just didn’t do enough today or waves of anxiety that roll through your body in the hours just before the sun rises or when your five-year-old melts down just as your digital meeting is about to start. Often times, your response is to push on and just get through what needs to be done (and yes sometimes it has to be done.) But what is the expense of the culmination of constant self-override?
Although people may have different reasons for skipping or procrastinating daily rituals of self-care, in time there is a deficit that must eventually be paid back. It is the debt to ourselves. When the body can no longer withstand the long hours of work, poor eating habits, and disrupted sleeping patterns, it will tell us. It may be high blood pressure, increase in weight, chronic fatigue, or pelvic pain. When our heart and soul can no longer listen to negative self- talk about how we are not enough or you need be something else, we will feel it. It may be headaches, digestion trouble, or a pervasive sense of anxiety.
All of these factors are forms of strain on the central nervous system and each person has their limits. Stress gnaws at our back and has a voracious thirst for our joy, leaving us depleted. The outcome is chronic exhaustion and sometimes pain, both of which impair resilience. Essentially, we can spend time being sick trying to reclaim our sense of well-being or can invest in ourselves just a little each day.
Practice good healthcare. Take a walk, chat with a friend, or make a beautiful meal. Find your thread of joy and weave it through a piece of each day. Have gratitude for all that you are. Do it for you. Do it for your children so they too can learn healthy self-regard from watching you.
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