Treat Yourself Well

Because it's Tony's week and because YouTube is fabulous, I've been listening to and watching a slew of interviews with Tony nominees.  The shear talent of this year's nominees is staggering.  And the works they've produced are as beautiful and varied, as they themselves are.  Some of the nominated shows like Dear, Evan Hansen, Sweat, Indecent or Falsettos while deeply moving, are difficult to be a part of 8 times a week.  There's a lot of emotion happening each performance. Imagine having to do that type of heavy-lifting each day or even sometimes twice a day.  I'm sure, while it's rewarding in the best way possible, it's also mentally and physically exhausting. Because of this, many of the actors talk at length about self care - basically, the idea of taking care of yourself so that you are able to get through the performances each week.

This idea of self care has been on my mind a lot lately.  As I wrote earlier this week, I've been slightly  worried about traveling to London in a few weeks.  This latest attack has sort of punched me in the gut, and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about traveling so far from home anymore.  I'm a big fan of travel in general, and having international adventures is my favorite thing to do.  While I still feel that these adventures are necessary to discovering all that I can about the world, I also feel anxious about the "what if's?".  

Hearing these actors discuss their own self care regimens for staying sane, I decided to try it for myself.  If small adjustments allowed these creatives to produce these beautiful works, surely they would help me embark on a measly trip to my favorite city in the world.

~ Reading is and always has been my favorite pastime.  I'm a sucker for books and have entirely too many in my home.  However, in the last few weeks I haven't been able to focus. I've started and stopped more books than I can count.  I just haven't been excited to sit down and tuck into any of the books that I've chosen to read.  After some thought, I realized it was because of the books I was choosing.  "The Laramie Project" is beautiful and necessary, but isn't exactly laugh out loud funny. When I'm stressed, I need light-hearted.  So I made a conscious decision to finally read "Seriously, I'm Kidding" by Ellen Degeneres.  It's funny and light, and most importantly, I'm able to tune out the world a bit when I read it.  That's what I needed. 

~ Sleeping.  This is something I apparently have in common with many of the actors I've listened to over the last few days.  I'm giving myself permission to go to bed early.  It may seem like an old lady thing to do, but it's good for me.  I don't know about you but my brain works a lot of overtime when I'm stressed.  I have a very hard time shutting it off when I'm awake.  So I trick it by going to sleep. It's sort of the same theory as the Ostrich sticking its head in the sand, which isn't always the healthiest but it works in the short term.

~ I enjoy chocolate, ice cream and hot tea.  And I'm enjoying them a lot more these days.  I wouldn't necessarily over-indulge.  But my one mini-Milky Way and cup of tea each day isn't really hurting me - just my waist-line.  It's a wonder what a small piece of chocolate can do for your mental health.  

~ Thinking Inward - I'm a quiet person anyway, but stressing makes me even quieter.  I don't talk a lot about my feelings and tend to let my brain run overtime (see Sleeping, above...) So instead of sharing these feelings through talking, I write them down.  Writing them down helps me to share what I may be feeling or thinking about, but gives me a chance to control what I want to say. 

~ Lastly, when everything else seems to be spiraling (politics, the world situation, etc.) I need order in my life. I need something that I can organize or re-arrange.  I have a pretty strict packing list in my head right now for my trip, and know exactly what I plan to wear each day.  I have also gotten to work, left work, eaten dinner, and gone to bed at the same time every day this week. It somehow makes me feel a little more in control.  (Reading this back, I've discovered I just may be a control freak...who knew?) 

Anyway, these are the tiny things that are making me feel better.  I'm still a little anxious, but I have small outlets now for dealing with this anxiety.  Your self care will no doubt be different than mine, but the important thing is to find something that works for you, and just do it.  We all need a little "me time" sometimes.  Why not make your "me time" work for you?