Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) April/May 2020 Aspire Magazine FULL Issue | Page 63

– RENEE PETERSON TRUDEAU
challenges, I know how overwhelming
illness and injuries can be. There is often a
feeling of being out of control while trying to
navigate the many unknowns. It is stressful
enough to be sick and/or injured but to add
all the other stressors of missed work/school,
doctor appointments, insurance, pain,
exhaustion, and complete life disruption, it
is not surprising that a person can become
totally stressed out and overwhelmed.
And that experience of overwhelm and
exhaustion is not only experienced by the
person, but also by those who love, care
for, and support them. Although it has been
challenging supporting my mom through
her healing process, I feel deeply grateful
that I have had the following self-nurturing
practices to support me and her. I offer them
to you whether you are healing from illness
or injury yourself or are caring for someone
who is.
1. Prioritize Your Healing
This first practice may seem obvious, but
how often have you felt sick and ignored
the symptoms until they got so bad that you
could not get out of bed? Or been in the
process of healing from an injury and pushed
yourself too soon causing your recovery to
take longer? Often when we are responsible
for caring for everyone else in our lives, we
do not prioritize our own healing. If this is
true for you, you are not alone. Choosing to
prioritize your healing is the foundation of
nurturing yourself through illness and injury
and provides space in your life to embrace
the other self-nurturing practices. As L.R.
Knost reminds us, “Taking care of yourself
doesn’t mean me first; it means me too.”
2. Be Kind to Yourself
Now that you are embracing the idea
of prioritizing your healing, invite in self-
compassion and kindness. When we
become sick or injured we can be critical
and judgmental of ourselves and our bodies
which only adds to our stress and overwhelm.
Instead choose to treat yourself like you would
a dear friend and love and nurture yourself
through the healing process. Check in to see
what the most nurturing thing for you to do in
this moment would be and then with kindness
give yourself permission to do just that.
Being loving and kind to yourself will provide
fertile ground for healing and allow you to
embrace Melodie Beattie’s wise words,
“Accept yourself. Love yourself as you are.
Your finest work, your best movements, your
joy, peace, and healing come when you love
yourself. You give a great gift to the world
when you do that. You give others permission
to do the same: to love themselves. Revel in
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“Nurturing yourself is not selfish—it’s essential
to your survival and your well-being.”