Episode #11: Self Care is a Necessity, Not an Indulgence

The Whole Mama - A Podcast with Jenna Gibbons

“Reports say 78% of moms say they put off taking care of their own health to care for family members.”

Let’s think about this, if we move our self-care to the top of the priority list (and make it a non-negotiable item without feeling a sense of guilt for doing so), we are positioning ourselves to be a happier, healthier, and better mama overall for your kids.

Emma Bennett, LCSW, who specializes in working with new moms. "We need to nurture ourselves just like we nurture our children. If we don't take care of ourselves, feelings of depletion, resentment, and isolation could potentially arise. I feel more centered and present after taking time to engage in self-care, and strongly believe in building it into my daily agenda."

This is key. Building your self-care into your daily schedule – without pushing it or moving it back – allows for you to regroup, refocus, and breathe. And we know this…if we DON’T build it into our schedule like everything else we do for the family…it’s not going to happen. So choose something that is a non-negotiable for you on a DAILY basis…sleep, going to the gym or for a walk, meditation/yoga, etc.

Another thing to keep in mind - our children use us as a model for how to take care of ourselves. Shouldn’t we be showing them what that means?

"Our children look to us and how we treat ourselves," says Bennett. "This goes for many things: how we speak to ourselves, how we treat our bodies, how we value our time. Modeling healthy self-care can be helpful for our children to witness and internalize. We are teaching them that taking care of yourself matters just as much as taking care of your family."

So, what are some things we can do care for ourselves?

Ideas Include:

-book YOUR appts for the year

-block out time on your phone/in your planner for 20 minutes of reading in morning

-go to bed 30 minutes earlier every night

-give yourself 5 minutes of meditation each day

-go for a walk in the morning or do your daily workout

-hydrate (set a goal of how many oz per day)

-make a healthy dinner a few times a week

This episode kicks off our monthly theme of self-care. We’ll be talking all about how to establish this in your daily life/schedule, create non-negotiables, regain guilt-free time, set boundaries, manifest the good stuff, love and care for your body (after having babies), vibrating higher as a mama, wife, and daughter of God.
Resources:
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/a25655596/self-care-for-moms/

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