As I sit here in the warm spring air writing my Master's thesis on the topic of adequate self care for the psychotherapist I reflect on my long journey of establishing adequate self care practices and the many trails yet to come.
A poignant moment in my journey of self care was the period immediately following my father's abrupt and untimely death. This was a period of great shock and depletion. A period of time that was deep and disembodied all at the same time. I found myself being quite candid and brash whilst feeling exposed and vulnerable. I became all too familiar with the sense that I was unsure what was sharing too much, or what was enough, and how to express gratitude or indeed any of the many emotions I was flooded with.
Now, years later, I remember this period as a time I lay in bed reading Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth, desperately trying to soak in the wisdom and infuse the calm of the words into my soul. I felt I was clear minded and wide open. I now wonder just how I was, really, and how much energy I was investing in this book to contain me, to help me to make sense of the world I found myself in. This book reflected back to me what I needed from it; a cool, calm voice of reason with a trust that everything would indeed work out perfectly and that I, in the here and now, needed to land resolutely back into my body and to be present to my life's experiences as they unfolded, and as indeed I unfolded them.
I have now been actively researching the process of taking adequate care of oneself during periods of great stress, hardship and whilst working in the highly demanding field I have chosen. Throughout this period I have discovered that we need to push ourselves and trust ourselves simultaneously, and this is not a balance easily struck. Whilst I often know intuitively what I need to practice to ensure I am well nurtured, centred and balanced, it is often the motivational force of changing habits and practices that is the most challenging part of the journey.
A poignant moment in my journey of self care was the period immediately following my father's abrupt and untimely death. This was a period of great shock and depletion. A period of time that was deep and disembodied all at the same time. I found myself being quite candid and brash whilst feeling exposed and vulnerable. I became all too familiar with the sense that I was unsure what was sharing too much, or what was enough, and how to express gratitude or indeed any of the many emotions I was flooded with.
Now, years later, I remember this period as a time I lay in bed reading Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth, desperately trying to soak in the wisdom and infuse the calm of the words into my soul. I felt I was clear minded and wide open. I now wonder just how I was, really, and how much energy I was investing in this book to contain me, to help me to make sense of the world I found myself in. This book reflected back to me what I needed from it; a cool, calm voice of reason with a trust that everything would indeed work out perfectly and that I, in the here and now, needed to land resolutely back into my body and to be present to my life's experiences as they unfolded, and as indeed I unfolded them.
I have now been actively researching the process of taking adequate care of oneself during periods of great stress, hardship and whilst working in the highly demanding field I have chosen. Throughout this period I have discovered that we need to push ourselves and trust ourselves simultaneously, and this is not a balance easily struck. Whilst I often know intuitively what I need to practice to ensure I am well nurtured, centred and balanced, it is often the motivational force of changing habits and practices that is the most challenging part of the journey.
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