Feeling guilty about doing something for yourself, The Girlfriend Experience Boudoir, Pittsburg Boudoir Photography,
“Releasing guilt can be very helpful in learning to prioritize self-care.”
2020 was the year that everyone had to take a good long look at their personal lives because it was all many of us had while being in lockdown. That meant looking at how we take care of ourselves. It became far harder to ignore if you’re not taken care of yourself and it became even harder to actually take care of yourself while caring for partners and children while in lockdown. There was a drowning process of what to vs what can you do.
I received a lot of messages about when we’d be open again, what our hours were, and how we were handling the precautions, simply because women were looking for something they could do for themselves. A boudoir shoot is on the extreme end of the things you can do to take care of yourself and while it is exciting and something to look forward to, the smaller self-care moments are just as important as the big ones.
Most of the time when we set aside time for ourselves, we are accompanied by some guilt. Those voices tend to tell us illogical thoughts like “ You don’t deserve to take a break” or “ you could be doing something more productive”. Which then ends up circulating in our brains for the duration of the self-care event, causing you to stress out while you’re trying to relax.
While reading a book, I found the most interesting quote. “ Sometimes self-care is hard because it means facing things you’d rather pretend aren’t there. Self-examination is uncomfortable. It requires a level of honesty that you have to prepare to handle.”
Being mindful and focusing on the activity, rather than the emotions of the day, makes your time beneficial. If you can’t break the cycle of negative thoughts about why you shouldn’t be taking time for yourself, it’s not going to be beneficial for you. You need to focus on the task at hand. Whether it’s reading a novel, taking a bath, or going on a walk. Try to use your five senses, and go over what you’re noticing. This keeps you at the moment and allows you to be mindful of the current situation. Allowing you to be fully emerged in your activity and have it be beneficial to your mental health.
This is something you can do throughout your day to check-in and remove the stressors of your day. Being mindful about your self-care is a whole other experience. After, when you experience a mindful self-care task, you can feel the release of tension.
