Take Care of Yourself Year Round

During this crazy time, I’m sure that you’ve been busy trying to take care of things.  I was reading Karen Lee Richards’ post 10 Tips for Holiday Shopping with Chronic Pain for some great ideas regarding shopping.  She offers up solid advice which includes: make a list, shop from home, consider gift cards, map out your strategy, and dress for comfort.  I have successfully followed each suggestion.

You know, Karen has written some of the best posts over the years offering up wonderful suggestions.  There was another one, Surviving the Holidays with Chronic Pain, in which she suggested that we gives ourselves a G.I.F.T. during the season.

• G - Guilt must go
• I - Importance rules
• F - Family matters
• T - Think ahead

This is such a clever reminder of ways to help prioritize needs and wants, especially in thinking about what is important.  Whether it is deciding to skip a party in order to have more “spoons” or choosing to order a pre-cooked meal from the local grocery store to be able to spend more time with family, it is wise to determine what is MOST IMPORTANT to you.

Truly, this is something which we should do for ourselves throughout the year.  When living with rheumatoid arthritis or any other chronic illness, what is most important should often be YOU!! 

Sometimes it is difficult to make yourself a priority, especially when you are juggling work and family and managing an illness (something which can feel like a full time job).  This is something often overlooked, I think, amongst the holiday hubbub.  We still have “normal” things to take care of, one of which is our health.

Have you remembered to make yourself priority #1 this year?

Read this post in its entirety:

Making Yourself a Priority During the Holiday Season