Take care of yourself
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Last week I broke away from my hectic schedule to get a much needed haircut, something I only do these days when I have a big meeting or event coming up. I also snuck out to the store and bought some new clothes to replace the sweatpants and t-shirts I’ve been living in since before the holidays.
I used to make every effort to get up, get dressed (in real clothes, not sweats) and dry my hair into the semblance of a style before starting work for the day. But work picked up at some point in September, after a very quiet summer, and the time I spent taking care of myself (including going to the gym three-to-four times per week) diminished greatly.
A lapse in self care is an inevitable pitfall of working from home. This is doubly true because I have kids. The temptation to wear comfort clothes, throw my hair in a pony tail and avoid any and all makeup is strong. It doesn’t seem a worthwhile task to spend my limited time on outward appearances when there are so many other things to do.
But sometimes self neglect can actually lead to self destruction. According to a recent article in London’s Daily Mail, some working mothers are too busy to eat. There’s even a name for it. It’s called “stressorexia.” According to the article, stressorexia is a condition that affects mothers in their late 20s to 40s who are overworked and trying to be “perfect.”
I don’t know. If I were striving for perfection, I’d probably get my hair cut more than twice a year. Still, I’ll admit I work through lunch at least once a week, and if my husband didn’t love cooking, I’d probably subsist on a diet of cereal and TV dinners. The bottom line is that forgetting (or neglecting) the basics of life (eating, sleeping, getting dressed, etc.) is just really poor self care.
It’s frightening that something as critical as, well, eating can move so far down on a woman’s list of priorities as to fall off altogether.
What it all boils down to is a piece of advice I got from my wonderful hairdresser who tolerates my infrequent visits with infinite patience and good humor, “Get back to the gym, get your haircut more often and take care of yourself.” She probably should’ve added, “and don’t forget to eat.”
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This article was published in the Poughkeepsie Journal on Saturday, February 9th, 2009 under the title, “Make time to take care of yourself.”