self-care

Rejection happens to everyone, in some way: Your kindergarten crush who called you gross, someone you love rejecting your identity, losing a job or a lover.

When I share that I’m in a bad place, I’m told to curl up in bed with a nice book, eat my favorite ice cream or to take a relaxing bath. While these are all wonderful and helpful ideas, I think it’s important to discuss aspects of self-care that aren’t all about resting and treating yourself.

Take everything personally and think the worst of any situation? Overwhelmed with your job or at school? Say self-deprecating things about yourself, or think the same of other people? If you can relate to any of this, it’s a sure sign you need to take better care of yourself, because happiness and healing truly comes from within.

I was drowning in stuff, and felt constantly tired — even though I’d made an art out of trading in my old clothes at secondhand stores, minimizing expenses, and sharing apartments with strangers. Something felt fiscally oppressive despite the fact that I’ve never owned a house, a car, or anything larger than my bed.

Babies, while awesome in so many wonderful ways, do not give a single shit if you really need another hour of sleep. If the baby is up, you’re up. So we were up.

If you’re an entrepreneur like myself, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about. No one is looking over your shoulder to see if you’re on-task, but you’re probably working 12+ hour days anyway.

“Congratulations, Joni. You have a UTI so bad my machine can't even read it.”

I like to give everything 110%, even my bacterial infections. I like to give everything 110%... except myself.

All day, you eagerly anticipate finding just 30 minutes to chill out, catch up with your significant other, and relax into sleep. But the problem is... though your body is ready to plop down on the sofa and decompress, your brain is still going a mile a minute. It's stuck in "go-go-go" mode. As a result, you're there with your loved ones, but you're not really present. You think, What's wrong with me? Why can't I relax?