My Self, My Friend

My Self, My Friend

When too many tasks and thoughts form a heavy cloak over my shoulders, my mind often wanders to how best to accomplish everything without losing my marbles so to speak. In the past, I would never stop to think about scheduling time for myself, nor would I take time out in a situation to assess how I could prevent a stressful meltdown. Instead, I would power through without pause. The result? My nerves would be fried and I would barely be capable of making the simplest of decisions.

These days, the term “self-care” frequently comes to mind when a busy streak sets in. Despite the fact that I have thought about what practices help me feel grounded in times of tumult, I can’t honestly say that I always follow through with them. I have learned that habits can be really hard to break. It’s a work in progress.

While it is often helpful for me to pause and leave what I am doing to make myself a cup of tea or to go outside for a walk, I have been contemplating a shift in how I think about “self-care.” For some reason, it has been easier for me to think about treating my “self” as my friend. If one of my closest buddies was out of sorts, I wouldn’t hesitate to try my best to make them feel better, or to encourage them to take time out for themselves. Why wouldn’t I want that for myself?

This encourages kindness in a time when my inner critic is bound to come to the surface. I’m able to slow down and take a step back. While we all face pressure to complete our to-do lists, I find that this strategy also helps me in times when I feel overwhelmed about managing my PCOS or thinking about the future.

While being moved to act in a way that promotes self-care can certainly produce amazing results, I have found that this small shift in thinking has helped me.


What works for you? How do you take care of yourself in trying times?

Written by: Natalie, Power Up for PCOS Volunteer
http://www.powerupforpcos.com
*Please note that I am not a medical professional. I am not qualified to give out any medical advice. I am a woman with PCOS who is sharing my personal experiences in this blog and I advise you to consult a professional.*

Power Up for PCOS - emPowering Women to Manage PCOS

Power Up for PCOS provides support to women with PCOS and their families through educational Power Up Groups, building connections with other PCOS women, calendar of upcoming PCOS events, professional referrals and reviews, PCOS store, and other specialized events to raise awareness for PCOS.

It's the Power Up for PCOS Walking Awareness Challenge!

It's the Power Up for PCOS Walking Awareness Challenge!

Every year, we do some big challenge. The first year, it was a walk-a-thon. The second, it was a 5K. Now, we have decided to have a month long event to really pack as much awareness in as we can during PCOS awareness month.

Are you excited yet? I am! 

Here's the details:

Registration is necessary for all those planning to participate.  Please register using the form here.

During the month of September, we will be holding a Power Up Walking Awareness Challenge, which is a challenge to see how many miles you can rack up before the end of the month. On top of that event, we will be having other challenges to go along with it like make your own PCOS bling to wear, decorate your own PCOS t-shirts (or you can pick one up from our CafePress store), PCOS picture challenges, local walking groups and so on. To see if there is a group walking near you, please visit our facebook page, and join your local group listed under the about section.

We will be tracking everyone's standings and 3 people will receive a gift basket filled with PCOS bling. One will go to the person with the most miles and the other two are randomly chosen. That really sounds awesome, doesn't it?

How to Join In:

Step 1: Register for FREE by completing the short form here  We need only the basic information. Set a personal goal that you would like to reach for the month too.

Step 2: Start planning some of the places you will walk and how you will track your miles. You can use different apps to track miles or you can go to websites and map it out like mapmywalk.com. Make sure to be safe and walk with a buddy or in well lit public areas. Bonus: plan on people walking with you to support you.

Step 3: Determine if you would like to raise money for an organization listed on our Where To Give page. This is a list of places we believe to be doing something awesome to affect and improve PCOS or related symptoms/diseases. When you visit that page, you will be able to click on each place and give directly to them. We do encourage you to raise some money for these organizations so there can be advances in the treatment of PCOS and it's related symptoms. If there is an organization you would like to see listed there, please suggest it to us by using the contact form or emailing info@powerupforpcos.com. You can also help support our website by giving a small gift using the Support Our Cause page.

Step 4: Every Monday, visit our Submit Your Miles page and complete the quick form. You can bookmark that page to make it easier to find too.

Step 5: Check the standings to see where you rank. Remember, 3 people get a gift basket filled with PCOS bling. To check the standings, visit here.
 
We look forward to all our participants having a great time! For questions or concerns, please e-mail info@powerupforpcos.com or call 810-545-PCOS.