How many times have we heard "self care" lately? It seems that so many people are in need of some serious care, but what the media would have us believe about self care is not always the appropriate response. We are told to "treat yo self" to get out of the everyday annoyances and issues. How many times have you seen this: two women spending all day shopping for the perfect outfit, then hitting the town, saying "yes" to every opportunity that presents itself. Or maybe it's the couple splurging on a van buildout to travel the world and forget their cares for a summer. Girlfriends in exotic hats leaning in to whisper to each other over a decadent high tea table like Sex and the City meets Downton Abbey.
But guess what? It doesn't work.
You heard that right! What those activities provide is a DOPAMINE DUMP - they flood our systems with good feelings that rarely last, and can sometimes have the opposite effect when the dopamine wears off. The spending, the running away, the "forgetting" - it's all temporary! And we feel worse when we come back to the everyday.
I've made a chart below of ways we can swap out the "treat" for "taking care" - real self care sometimes needs prep, work, and may not be 100% glamorous when it comes down to it. But how good to you feel after a wonderful, healthy meal with people you love? Or how about snagging some coaching around finding ways to reduce the stress in the first place?
Feeling a little lost? Identify with this post a bit? Come try out quite a few of these recommendations and learn about so many more techniques to care for you at The Body Positive Fitness Retreat! (Struggle with that "cooking a healthy meal" option? We have you covered with a cook-along presentation with your Platinum Ticket!)
You got this.
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