“Self-care is giving the world the best of you instead of what’s left of you.”

I recently came across this quote – I would love to give credit to the source of the quote but unfortunately don’t know who it is from.

Self-care is giving the world the best of you instead of what’s left of you

This is currently my lock screen on my phone as a constant reminder. I came across this quote a few days ago when I needed it the most and it resonated so much with me. It was at a time when overwhelm and first signs of stress and burnout showed itself and I started to withdraw – I wanted to do so many things yet overwhelm got the better of me. 

You might resonate with this as it is very common. Ironically, I have a background in Social work and still work as frontline worker now. In my work one of my main goals is to empower the people I work with and support them with building their own support networks and to make their mental health a priority.
Yet, and I see this in many people – other frontline workers as well as people who naturally want to give a lot and support others – we forget to take the same steps for ourselves. To build a network of support, to take time out to nourish ourselves and to rest.

Can you recognise your own first symptoms of burnout? For myself, it’s loss of humour, withdrawal, not wanting to speak to anyone and not wanting to do the things that usually bring me joy anymore.

More and more over the past years I’ve learnt that it’s the most important thing to look after my own mental health and that it needs to be my number one priority. Because if I don’t, I can’t continue doing what I love doing.

Self-care is giving the world the best of you instead of what’s left of you.

What self-care looks like will be different for all of us. Part of it is doing things you enjoy, resting and setting boundaries. Yoga can be a great additional tool for self-care. For me personally, a great support for my own Mental Health has especially been restorative yoga as it allows me to deeply rest and recharge.
What does self-care look like for you?? Press reply to this email and let me know.