SELF-CARE: Avoiding Burnout and Caring for Each Other.

I went to sleep at 9pm last night. I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay up and party with @sircork on the @steemstarnetwork, and play with friends from #thealliance, #isleofwrite, and #steemsugars.

I wanted to get a post or two out yesterday, as well. I couldn’t do it.

I had to lay down. (Not on a rock in an ocean, but this is a nice photo, isn’t it?)

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Take care of yourself so you don’t burn out.

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Yesterday @meanmommy33 put up a post saying she might need to take a break. She’s been going hard on Steemit (and life in general) for 9 months, heading the Steemsugars discord as well.

I’ve only been at it for a month and a half, and I’m feeling the fatigue. (Then again, I’m a mom of young children, so I’m always tired.)

I’m also feeling the love, big-time! I’ve made such incredible friends, I don’t want to stop playing on discord or reading your posts. Y’all are amazing!

At the same time, it’s important to have “me” time, which is already scarce considering I have twin toddlers. It’s important to get out into nature, to spend quality time with family. Maybe even hang out with “real-life” friends.

Another friend, @sykochica, was the first person I chatted with on Discord, a few days into my Steemit adventure. Hearing her voice made everything more real for me. In fact, she gave me some EXCELLENT wisdom that has helped me a lot: she said there’s so much to read, you miss stuff. And basically, she made me feel okay about missing things. I stress a lot less about it, accepting that you seriously cannot get to everyone’s posts, even the people I adore.

@sykochica recently took a couple weeks off, and I was starting to wonder if she was okay. Lo and behold, she did a post just when I was about to DM her and check in, and when I saw her in the LGBT server, she said she periodically takes a week or two away from Steemit. For sanity. For self-care.

This is smart. I think everyone needs to step back from time to time, even if just for an evening, or a day.

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A few ideas to avoid burnout:

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• GET ENOUGH SLEEP!
• Drink plenty of water.
• Eat nourishing food.
• Exercise.
• Spend time in nature.
• Did I mention getting enough sleep? Oh yes. I did. ;)

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image source

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Rest up, my friends!

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Like I said, I was out around 9pm last night. I couldn’t function any longer.

Often, I see friends on Discord at all hours, wherever you are in the world, and I care about you! I know some of you don’t get enough sleep, or enough nourishing food.

I think about you and hope you’re okay.

Yes, you’re adults. You make your own decisions. I know many of you are working on super important things (@sircork, @youarehope, and many others), and serving your families worldwide (@topkpop, @saffisara, @enginewitty, @battleaxe, and so many more).

Maybe I’m being too much of a mom, but I wish y’all would sleep more.

Sometimes we need to say, “No,” to put up boundaries. @battleaxe wrote a great post about not always saying “Yes.” This is so worth a read!

Saying "No" is hard for me. I want to say YES to so much, but I have to say NO often these days, otherwise I’ll fall down, go boom.

There are no days off as a mother, so I am forced to take care of myself. It’s a good thing. We all run into a wall, sometimes. Try to rest before you do.

Restorative yoga is a great thing, too… Maybe I’ll do a post about that one of these weeks.

photo: Nat Anfield

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Taking care of each other.

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All of this said, it’s also important to take care of each other.

@youarehope is doing A LOT to serve people in the world. Please, if you care about human beings in poverty, if you care about orphans, please go to @youarehope and give as large of an upvote as you can, or send a donation.

Listen to a replay of the latest You are H.O.P.E. town hall to learn more about the work this charity is doing.

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If you see someone struggling personally — sad, tired, depressed, whatever — reaching out can make a big difference. Feeling alone is so hard! It compounds any other issues that are happening.

Exercise self-care for yourself so you can also care for others. This is a simple concept, but how many of us follow it?

Whatever you need to do for yourself, be sure to make it a priority.

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Take care of yourself. You are a gift!

Peace. @katrina-ariel

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