Self care and lupus
Self-care means taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy, you can be well, you can do your job, you can help and care for others, and you can do all the things you need to and want to accomplish in a day.
Remembering to follow these daily self-care tactics can help you better manage lupus symptoms and prevent flares.
Mental Self-Care - Forget your thoughts. Repetitive negative thoughts can make us spiral into believing we’re not good enough and don’t deserve happiness. Remove your mental chatter. Thoughts come and go but you get to choose how you feel about them.
Social Self-Care - Relationships make up a big part of our lives, whether it be romantic relationships, work relations or family. Evaluate which relationships have been the most equal in the long run and which relationships consistently drain you and act accordingly.
Emotional Self-Care - Get out of auto-pilot at work, in life and at home so trying to relax won’t feel robotic or forced. Make time to get very still and listen to that authentic, honest voice within. Save enough space in your day to be truly honest with yourself about what you’re experiencing and what you need.
Physical Self-Care - Almost any form of physical activity can help reduce stress and pain. Maybe your preferred method of self-care is going for a long walk outside or hopping on the treadmill and sweating the day away.
Don’t get caught up in just the phrase of self-care. Prioritising your mental, physical, and spiritual well-being should never go out of style or be something you do once in a while.
Self-care isn’t a one time thing, it is ongoing and can be done in a variety of ways. It is about creating a life that feels good to you. One that doesn’t make you feel like you need to “earn” a bubble bath or a nice glass of wine, but one that helps identify exactly what you need and how to find peace moment-to-moment beyond lupus and the issues it can bring.
This article is intended to inform and give insight but not treat, diagnose or replace the advice of a doctor. Always seek medical advice with any questions regarding a medical condition.