by Amanda Rosinski, M.A.
As I plan some fun outdoor activities for this upcoming Labor Day weekend, I can’t help but to also think about the idea that Labor Day represents the end of the summer. Beyond that, my fall semester has already begun, and now I’m back in classes and teaching. Add that to working at the Albert Ellis Institute and conducting my research, and my schedule has become full very quickly. I start to think, “Will I have enough time to fit everything in my schedule?” In addition to that, will I have enough time for some self-care? As I began to think more about including self-care into my schedule, that is when I noticed myself slipping into the territory of disturbing beliefs.
Self-care includes creating plans to care for one’s physical, mental, and emotional health. Because I have such a full schedule without adding in self-care, I notice myself saying, “I should spend that time doing homework instead of cooking a meal or getting an extra hour of sleep,” or “I have too much to do to worry about self-care!” Sometimes I become so busy that I actually feel like I can’t stand the thought of focusing only on me and my self-care rather than getting something done on my perpetual to-do list. The more I get wrapped up in these irrational beliefs, the more I feel guilty about taking the time for my own self-care. Will I be a bad person if I take this time to focus on just me? But, self-care is something that is very beneficial for everyone, and it affects several aspects of our functioning. So, I have adapted my beliefs to be more helpful, such as, “I want to get this homework done today, but it is okay if I finish it tomorrow and actually cook dinner tonight,” or “I have a lot to do, but I can stand it and still make time to enjoy some self-care.” I will continue rehearsing these beliefs until my feelings of guilt ease into feelings of remorse. Finally, I plan to add some self-care activities into my weekly planner, so that I can be sure to fit it into my schedule.
