Take Time For You

by Christy
(Orange County, CA)

Six years ago, my father was in the hospital battling liver cancer. It was devastating and stressful to watch him slowly decline. It took a huge toll on me as I was at the hospital with him nearly every day.

I also had to get his affairs in order and arrange power of attorney. And if the emotional pain of watching him struggle wasn't enough to push me over the edge the legal side of things would be. I wasn’t sleeping. I lost a lot of weight from forgetting to eat. And was becoming very depressed.

It was so hard to go through this and try to keep up with my life, my job and my relationships. A doctor at the hospital advised me to see a therapist who could help me cope with all the stress.

Talking about my feelings helped, but the best advice I got from the therapist was to try and do something just for myself every day. I was so wrapped up in everything else in my life that I wasn’t taking any time for me. I started taking time every day to read a book. Lie in the bathtub. Do a crossword puzzle. Have lunch with a friend or ride my bike. All things I enjoy. That little bit of me time really helped me feel less enveloped in the stress.

At first I thought I was being selfish by doing it. But sometimes, being a little selfish is just what you need to recover from stress. I know meditation relaxes some people. This was my form of meditating. It made everything easier and when my father died, it gave me outlets to deal with my grief in a healthy way.