Weekly Inspiration: Emotional First Aid

I have been feeling a bit "off" lately - just overwhelmed, too busy, and not taking good care of myself. I know that and yet, I keep pushing. In fact, I'm not feeling very well-qualified to provide inspiration to others right now, so I went looking in search of inspiration this morning on the TED Talks website. I found a TED Talk Playlist about The Importance of Self-Care. It includes lots of great talks, many of which I have previously featured here on my blog, so I encourage you to check it out.

The particular one that caught my eye from that list today, though, was Why We All Need to Practice Emotional First-Aid by Dr. Guy Winch, a psychologist. Check out this brief but inspirational talk:



(P.S. NOTE: On my screen, the above viewer isn't showing up correctly - it is only half a screen. If it isn't working for you, either, this direct link will take you to the talk.)

He describes how our society focuses on physical pain and care but ignores the emotional and psychological side. He mentions several specific emotional states - including loneliness, frustration, lack of self-confidence, and more - that do require care yet are often ignored. And he provides ideas for taking better care of your emotional health, illustrated with examples from his own life. His advice on stopping obsessive thinking - what he calls "rumination" - really hit home for me, and I intend to try it.

I have certainly been neglecting my emotional health! I think another contributing factor that he doesn't mention (probably because it tends to be more of a female thing) is that we women tend to take care of others and ignore ourselves. That is a big problem for me during the summer, with my older sons home from college part-time and very little alone, quiet time for myself.

How about you? Do YOU take care of your psychological health? Do you need some "emotional first-aid"? Share your own thoughts & experiences in the comments below.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! We are catching up on lots of stuff at home after several weeks of travel, but we did take time out last night for dinner out and a movie (at a new theater with fully reclining seats - I'm in love!)