Living a Balanced life

This is a heavy topic, everyone version of “balance” should look different. My version will not be the same as yours, we all lead different lives, which promotes our individuality.

Balance is something we work on daily, I have not reached total balance yet, but I am consciously taking steps in that direction. These are a few areas in my life where I have worked hard on trying to create a more balanced feeling for myself.

I started with my nutrition, over the past few years I have changed my diet up drastically, knowing this is better for my autoimmune disease, as well as just my overall (mental) health. I’ve started to learn more about the connection with our guts and our brains. When we feed our body junk, that junk is directly effecting our brain and body chemistry. This was a mind-blowing thing for me to discover, what I consume on a daily basis effects the chemistry in my brain. You ever wonder why you have a spike in your anxiety one day over another, or why you feel more defeated mood wise one day over another-its your food choices.

Another thing I have chosen to do to help create more balance In my life is: lessen my work load, I also am more strict with who I choose to give my time and energy to. When I first started as a therapist I worked with children who had suffered from serious traumas. I no longer serve this population, as my body cannot handle the stress of helping such a hard demographic heal. But now I get to work with amazing adults who actively work on bettering themselves every day, and this breathes new life within me.  Not everyone can change their work environments or jobs, but taking a small step to not talk to that person who is always talking crap about everyone else, or is always so negative with conversations could be a place to start.

I also still work on not giving my time to those whom I feel have a negative energy, as I am very sensitive to this and I do not like exposing myself to pessimistic people. This step is truly harder than creating boundaries with my work load. This is not such a surprise to me, but to you it may be. Humans who have this negative energy love to push boundaries or to make you feel bad for no longer entertaining them. This is something I myself as a therapist constantly have to work on, understanding/remembering that when people lash out or disrespect boundaries, it is not a reflection of me but of them.

What does filling your cup mean, to me it means; helping bring a refreshed feeling to ourselves when we are feeling drained. This does not have to a long drawn out process of self care. It doesn’t have to be massages, facials, or hours of meditation. It can be the 5 minutes you get to yourself, to just breathe for a second. It can be a phone call, a workout, a glass of wine, a book or even a walk around the block. It looks different for everyone, but i would suggest make it the least complicated thing you can think of- you already have stress you do not need to add more to your plate. 

To recap, I have made numerous changes over the last three years that have brought me so much more happiness, but I am constantly working on what balance looks like for me. It is always different, some weeks I can push past certain limitations and be okay, the next I cannot. I always make sure to understand what refilling my cup looks like to me and spending time doing this to help to recharge when I am feeling out of balance.  As soon as you realize the worth of your time, you will stop giving it away so freely.