At the beginning of the year, I decided to make self care a priority for myself and invited you to join me on this journey.   This included a commitment on my part to write a 6-month series of blog posts dedicated to the topic of self care.  This is the last post scheduled for the series, but I will continue to advocate for each of us to prioritize self care.  Self care is important!   In my previous post, I shared some of the personal benefits I’ve noticed from focusing on self care even though it was a struggle for me.

Here is the definition of self care that has guided the posts in this series:

Self care is purposeful action that an individual takes to ensure their well-being.   Well-being can include; emotional health, mental health, physical health, and spiritual health.

Below you will find a link to each post in the self care series and a brief summary of each post, so that you have easy access to find the topics that are of interest to you.  This may be especially helpful if you are new to this series on self care.

• Self Care: Quotes to Inspire You and an Invitation

This one is pretty obvious.   The post includes a list of quotes related to self care and the original invitation to join me for this series of posts.

• Refining Your Approach to Self Care

This post is a set of reflection questions aimed at helping you start thinking about what quality self care looks like for you and how you can prioritize self care.   This was a really helpful post for me to write and to consider because it made my next steps a little more clear.

• 5 Excuses that Prevent Prioritizing Self Care

This post explored 5 common excuses that people may tell themselves to avoid prioritizing self care.   Including excuses I have told myself.   It also includes an explanation of the truths that we can use to challenge the excuses we tell ourselves.

• Self Care Strategies

This post is a list of potential self care strategies that someone may try.    This is not a complete list, but rather designed to help the reader start thinking about possibilities that may work for them.

• Self Care Resources

In this post, I shared some of my favorite self care resources as well as resources that therapists from across the country shared with me.   The resources range from books to blog posts and more.

• Self Care: Walking The Walk

This is the most personal post that I have written since starting my blog.   I shared my struggles to prioritize self care as well as ways that I was successful in prioritizing self care.

What now?

I strongly believe that parents need to make self care a priority and model doing so for our children.  I have seen the benefits of making time for self care on my own well being, my family and my work as a therapist.  It is clear to me that self care isn’t something we can just check off a list and say, “I’ve mastered that!”  I have learned that I need to make a daily commitment to find time for self care and I imagine that is true for many of you reading this post as well.

Although I will not have regularly scheduled posts on the topic of self care I will continue to help support you on your self care journey.   Here’s how you’ll continue to hear from me about this topic:

• I will continue to share self care related resources, quotes and other content on my social media accounts. You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ if you’d like to continue reading material related to self care.
• I will be offering free or low cost workshops on the topic of self care in the Eagan, MN area. There are a couple of these workshops already on the calendar for this fall.   Click here to see my workshop schedule.
• From time to time, I will write a self care blog post. I just won’t be committing to a monthly post on this topic as there are other topics I’d like to explore in my writing as well.
• I am available to work with individuals and families in a therapeutic relationship to support them in identifying their self care needs and addressing any related mental health or relationship concerns. My therapy office is located in Eagan, MN.   Click here to read more about the therapy services I offer.

What else would you like to see me offer to support you on your self care journey?  Please feel free to leave a comment below or email me at sarah@sarahleitschuhcounseling.com.

Thank you to everyone who has followed this blog series.   Writing this series and engaging with each of you around the topic of self care has helped hold me accountable in my commitment to self care.

Best wishes as you continue on your self care journey!

Sarah