06/18/2021
➡️ to see a RARE moment of 🤭
💐 Self-care is best defined as the ability to take proper care of my daily living needs, like eating, sleeping, grooming.
🙄 But it’s also about identifying my own unique needs and taking steps to meet them—like making the time to do things that nurture me, as well as activities that keep me healthy. In short, self-care is care provided for me, by me.
🥺 But when you live with depression, self-care can sometimes feel unattainable. I am tired, listless, with feelings of despair and corrosive thoughts that push and shove in an endless tug-of-war within myself.
✋🏻 So, what am I doing? Starting small. First: Recognizing that the symptoms of depression will make self-care very difficult.
🚀 Aiming for small goals like getting up out of bed, getting in the shower or sitting in a different room with some sunlight or fresh air.
🤟🏻 I remember when my depression was at its worst, I couldn't get out of bed. I literally slept for hours on end, hardly moving my body at all. I set a goal of just turning over from one side of the bed to the other, then trying to sit up in bed for a while.
☀️ Those goals were NOT easy to reach. But they led to bigger ones. And within days, I was out of bed.
📝 Here is some graffiti for the soul. “I CAN START SMALL.” Write it up and stick it in your wallet, and keep evolving, daily.
