Self-Care: Why is it so hard?

Self-Care

Everyone knows what it is and that it’s important. We’ve all heard the “you have to put your own oxygen mask on before you can help others” routine. Yet most of us struggle to actually make time for it.

I was watching Grey’s Anatomy (one of my guilty pleasures and personal self-care activities), and one of the scenes touched on a few reasons why we might struggle with this. I was blown away by the potency of that short scene and I had to share!

Reason #1 – You grew up in an unstable environment where you felt like you had to manage the emotions of other people to feel safe. Common in dysfunctional homes.

As an adult, taking time for yourself to rest might bring up anxiety and feel unsafe. It might only feel safe to rest when you are doing it for someone else’s benefit/need.

Reason #2 – You grew up in an environment where you had little to no support, emotional or otherwise. You kept yourself busy figuring everything out on your own.

As an adult, taking time for yourself to rest might bring up all of that pain from having to go it alone. Pain you had been avoiding by staying busy, that bubbles up in the stillness.

Those are just two examples of many of course, but they bring awareness to a deeper meaning behind the struggle to rest.

Do either resonate with you?

I would love to hear your thoughts! Drop a comment and let me know if you struggle with prioritizing self-care, and why you think that is.

With love,

Jess