Recharging

Chris Wilson writes:

Looking after yourself isn’t selfish.

It’s essential to help other people. When we slave away to the point of exhaustion, we need far longer to recover and harm ourselves and those around us.

One very important point here for those of us involved in elder care: it's imperative to understand that looking after yourself isn't selfish. If you aren't taking care of yourself you likely are going to flame out and that is most certainly going to affect those in your care.

He says next:

It’s possible to take this too far to the point of laziness, but I suspect if you are reading this newsletter, that isn’t your issue.

I don't agree with this at all. I'm going to argue that it can be very easy in these types of situations to mistake laziness for extreme burn out. I get to the point sometimes where I physically/mentally can't do a thing. It certainly can look like laziness (and feels like it) but I simply am incapable in those moments of doing much other than nothing. It's a symptom of not doing enough self-care in the first place!