Hair: Danielle June "Madame Pompadour"
Makeup: Charlotte Paul
Photography: Kendra Blair
Dress: French Connection
Earrings: Forever 21
Sunglasses: Tom Ford
Heels: YSL Tribute Stiletto
Hello! How is your weekend going? Lately, it has been over 100 degrees here in Southern California. It's usually warm here, but not uncomfortably hot like it is now.
Speaking of being uncomfortable, I've been getting comfortable with being uncomfortable for quite some time now. Many of you know that I have been dealing with mental health issues such as depression and have been forced to face myself and actually deal with my problems in a healthy manner. Talking about feelings for days on end in therapy is not easy and it takes a certain amount of mental strength to put ourselves out there and be vulnerable to speak about things that we would rather pretend don't exist. Pretending that we aren't depressed, stressed, struggle with anxiety, or any form of disorder or addiction doesn't serve us. What kinds of things do you struggle with?
There is a great quote about this from James Baldwin,
"Not everything that is faced can be changed...But nothing can be changed until it is faced."
This is true and it stuck with me. I had been so focused on accomplishing my academic goals through higher education and work for so long that I forgot to focus on myself and my mental health. I put aside taking care of myself or self-care. Have you ever tried to survive on very little sleep and coffee? Do you always eat at your desk or skip meals? Do you ever take vacations or take the weekend off? Do you take the time to exercise or are you always too tired or too busy? Or maybe you always put your families first and yourself last? Can anyone relate? If we really stop and take the time to think about our answers to these questions, we may find that we are not practicing self-care. Taking time to put ourselves first and re-evaluate our priorities can change our lives dramatically in wonderful ways. You know what they say, "You can't pour from an empty cup." So true! Also, on days when I feel like I can't do it alone, I pray and ask God to give me the extra push or energy I need to keep going in the right direction.
How are you practicing self-care today?
