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Rest, Me Time and Self-Care





With Mother’s Day just gone the topic of rest, me time and self-care are an important topic for us all to talk about.


As Mother’s we are told how valuable and integral we are to our families. And that is completely true, however I think it has led us to believe that our families are unable to survive without us. Even for a couple of hours. And even though, on an intellectual level, we know that our families can survive without us temporarily, how is the guilt? Anyone not feeling it?


Well I’m here to tell you that there is nothing, and I mean nothing that is more important than your health, especially your mental health! Rest, me time and self-care are absolutely essential for a Mum’s mental health. 


In nearly 20 years working as a Naturopath there is one word that is perceived as particularly offensive. Rest. When a person (any person) is struggling physically or emotionally, often rest will be one of the prescriptions. If only I could take photos of people’s faces when I mention rest. “But I’m too busy” or “I feel like I’m letting everyone down” are two very common responses. And here is the answer, if you don’t rest when your body and mind really need you to life is going to kick you in the arse later.
A great way to combat fraying at the edges in the first place is to cultivate rest, me time and self-care as a regular practice. Doing it regularly also helps with the guilts because you simply get better and better at it. Also, your family or the people that are depending on you get more and more used to it being a part of your life. I think it is particularly important for our kids to see us resting, whether it is sitting down with a book or having an afternoon snooze, as it helps them learn that switching off every now and then is essential.


Let’s face it, in this day and age, we could try and keep pushing ourselves to get as much achieved as possible on any given day. I can be up all night working if I want to be. I could take my kids to five different extra-curricular activities a week. But let me ask you, is it necessary? And also, what are you trying to prove?


As Mum’s we are besieged by messages that flame the guilt fire, which leads some of us to give up entirely and some of us to exhaustingly try and be Super-Mums. It’s time we set aside the guilt and take care of ourselves so that we can better take care of everyone else.

Note: I have focussed on mum’s here as I am a mum and I talk to mum’s all day long. However, this message is just as important (maybe more) for men and fathers. Indeed for every single person with a heart beat.






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