Tag: self help

Self-Care for Survival.

In modern times, the term self-care has become ubiquitous with treating oneself. And while we can all agree that the occasional pampering is healthy and beneficial, for some it’s not merely an indulgence, but a daily struggle. For those with a chronic illness or disability, self-care can be the difference between life and death.

For someone who can barely get out of bed, the idea of doing a face-mask or taking a bubble bath seems inconceivable, exhausting and frankly, absurd. How can you run a marathon when you can’t walk a mile? When you’re in survival mode, self-care needs to be about taking tiny steps, not giant bounds.

In a 2003 essay, Christine Miserandino coined the term “spoon theory”. Spoon theory “is a disability metaphor…used to explain the reduced amount of mental and physical energy available for activities of living and productive tasks that may result from” having a disability, chronic illness, autoimmune disease, or mental illness. (wiki)

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How to Stop Procrastinating. (Pt 2)

In the companion post to this one, I discussed the reasons we procrastinate, which was helpful in understanding the psychology behind our bad habits. In this post, I’ll provide tips on how to stop procrastinating.

If you missed part one, find it here: Why We Procrastinate (Pt 1)

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Why We Procrastinate. (Pt 1)

We’ve all been there before – when facing a looming deadline for a research paper or work presentation – we somehow find ourselves binge-watching episodes of Stranger Things on Netflix or re-alphabetizing our book shelves.  We have every intention of doing the thing…eventually.  We even set arbitrary deadlines for ourselves: I’ll do it at 11 o’clock.  And when 11 o’clock comes and goes and we still haven’t done the thing, we move the finish line.  I’ll start tomorrow.  I’ll start Monday.  I’ll start the first of May.  I’ll start in the New Year.  In the meantime, we stew in anxiety, guilt and self-hatred.  Why can’t I do the thing?  What’s wrong with me?  Will I ever do the thing?  Can I even do the thing?

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How is Asking for Help a Sign of Strength?

I consider myself fairly tech-savvy, but when I was setting up my website, I had no idea how to set my blog as the main content of the site.  I spent about an hour fiddling around in my settings, growing increasingly frustrated, but determined to do it on my own.  Then my friend John, who had a WordPress  account of his own, sat down and did what I hadn’t accomplished in an hour in about two minutes.  Could I have saved myself some frustration and used my talents in a more productive way?  Of course.  So what was stopping me from asking for help?

Well, what stops anyone?

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