Individual Therapy Sterling VA
“Work” doesn’t necessarily mean having job – it can be anything in your life that feels like work. Sometimes taking care of family members or friends feels like work. Sometimes taking care of yourself feels like work. Then there is the rest of your life (e.g., hobbies – who has time for those anymore?), which would be the second part of this so-called “work-life balance.” How are we supposed to do it all?
Research on how to strike the perfect balance between “work” and “life” has yet to find the answer. There is no such thing as perfection, and things often end up working out even if that means overextending and overbooking ourselves to solve the problem at hand. The question becomes, “How do we avoid or treat burnout?”
The answer is self-care: find what works for you. What do you love to do? What makes you feel important? What makes you feel loved? How do you keep those things active in your life? Start by answering those questions and figure out a plan for your self-care. One tricky part of self-care is finding or making the time to do it. Remember that taking care of yourself will give you the fuel to take care of others. That’s why couples need date nights every once in a while; taking care of your relationship will help you stay strong while taking care of the rest of your family.
Those hobbies that I mentioned earlier that no one seems to have time for anymore are incredibly important to maintaining a sense of self – what makes you feel like you. When we feel grounded, we connect better with others because we know that anything that comes our way has less of a chance of knocking us down. We feel safe and secure.
Getting grounded and staying there can be tough and takes practice. Mindfulness and meditation work well for some people, but if that’s not your style, there are plenty of tools to try. There’s a great list of recommended books here on our website for you to check out. Sometimes clients come to therapy as a place to start, and oftentimes their time in therapy is the only time during the week that is solely dedicated to themselves. That is okay, and this is your space!
