I’ve just been to see a specialist – I felt a bit silly making a fuss over what may have been quite a small ‘nothing’, but which also had the potential to be something quite serious. Thankfully there was not much to worry about and I was advised there are just a few simple measures to put in place to keep things ticking along okay; so then I ended up doing the ‘I shouldn’t have bothered’ thing.
What really impressed me was how the specialist responded to my outpouring of self-recrimination. I was quite firmly told that, yes, I did do the right thing having the symptoms checked out and that rather than being self-indulgent or overly anxious behaviour, it was actually judicious and timely self-care. What’s more, he said that had I not contacted him and the symptoms were indicative of something more sinister, then a wait could have been the difference between catching a condition when it was treatable and the possibility of a much more adverse outcome.
As a coach I often advise clients and friends to practice self-care, but sometimes I need to sit down and listen to my own advice! What I’ve learnt is to never feel bad about looking after yourself. Caring for yourself encompasses not only the obvious things like eating healthy food and participating in regular exercise, but it also includes taking time out to do something enjoyable just for yourself, and listening to your body when it tells you there is something wrong.
Another component of healthy self-care revolves around our outlook on life. Having an attitude of self-acceptance and an openness to the possibility of making a mistake and having it be okay allows us to approach life as if it is full of possibilities rather than fraught with insurmountable problems.
