Posts Tagged: self-care
There is No Self-Care without Community Care
Illustration: Dani Pendergast You know that weird thing that happens when you say a word too many times repeatedly, and it starts to feel funny on your tongue when you pronounce it, and sound funny when you hear it? After a while, you don’t even know if the word you’re saying is real? That’s what the term “self-care” has become for me. Your favorite instagram therapist has a bulleted list of ideas on how to care for self. Cosmetic brands are selling 98% petroleum jelly, 2% lavender essential oil eye creams under the guise of self care. At the end of every hour-long zoom meeting (which let’s be real, could have easily been an email, but I digress,) there’s some kind of self-care lecture and plug. At this point, I… Read more »
Building Resilience through Care
We’re all familiar with self-care at this point. In popular culture, it’s become a great go-to excuse for indulging yourself, a la Parks & Rec style. And for this reason, it’s also become co-opted by brands and commercialized. Brands use it as an excuse for you to buy their products or use their services. And we have to be careful because we are young and we are broke. But moreover, it’s not a sustainable way to take care of yourself. Self-care as we know it in activism is about resilience and the radical act of survival. We need to be able to engage with self-care in a way that can nurture us for as long as we need to continue our work. We can be distracted by ableist notions of… Read more »
Spring is Here! Good News in Dark Times
With President Trump under FBI investigation and the Affordable Care Act up for repeal there is really nothing to be happy about – at least that is what it feels like. Despite feelings of discouragement and helplessness there are plenty of things going on in this world that would put a smile on even the Grinch’s face. When the weight of the world gets to be more than any person can humanly handle, the only thing left to do is find ways to cheer yourself up. One of those ways is to look at the a few of the smaller more positive things happening. So – here are 2 pieces of important and positive news. Flint, Michigan On March 17th, the EPA awarded the state of Michigan $100 million to… Read more »
(Pod)Cast Your Sorrows Away: 3 Podcasts from Black Women
2016 was the year of the meme. The year itself became a meme, with millions of people anxiously tweeting their excitement for the year ahead. Then 2017 rolled around – and it sucks. Though 2017 is barely 2 full months in, there have been many more defeats than triumphs and it seems the impending doom will continue. From increased ICE raids to Donald Trump’s repeal of laws protecting trans folk’s bathroom safety, there is no shortage of bad news. 2017’s endless list of badness presents a perfect opportunity to incorporate nuanced and diverse voices into your life. One of the many ways I do this is through podcasts. Not only are podcasts hilarious, informative, and interesting they also feel like hanging out with best friends you’ve never actually met. So,… Read more »
10 Ways to Practice Self-Care
These past weeks have been difficult for citizens who have witnessed the rise of white nationalism into the highest elected political offices in our nation, the continued legacy of police officers unjustly murdering black bodies, discriminatory legislation towards trans folks in Southern states, and the increased attacks towards communities who are different from white, cisgender, heterosexual, male communities. In these times, it’s easy to not practice self-care since we are fighting for existence in a society that wants to treat us like second-class individuals. Yet we have to remember that this is a war, and not a single battle. So to uplift and encourage your spirits, here’s 10 ways to smile through the hard times ahead. Treat Yo Self Give No Fucks Be Yourself 4. Vogue For Your Life 5…. Read more »
Why You Shouldn’t Let Self-Doubt Keep You From Celebrating Your Success
In my first year of college, I applied to join my university’s honors program. Even though I was already attending my “reach” school, I had done well during my first year of college, so I applied. Much to everyone’s surprise, I got in. As soon as my first honors program class started, I knew I was in over my head. All of the students around me were talking about their favorite philosophers and unbelievable internships. They tossed around words like “vociferous “ casually, and leaned back in their fancy leather chairs as if they were born to be in the honors program. You know the type. This was my first philosophy class ever. The readings were dense and difficult. The paper prompts were daunting. The oral presentations were intimidating. While… Read more »
It’s Okay to Struggle with Self-Care
There’s currently an entire movement going on aimed at teaching people proper self-care. I think this is a great idea with great intentions; however, I find the saturation of this content to be a bit stressful at times. I would argue that we are constantly being bombarded with lists and articles telling us how to best take care of ourselves. It seems sort of counter-intuitive to me. I’m stressing out about all of these articles telling me how not to stress out? I’m stressed out because I’m struggling to make time for these things that are supposed to cure me of my stress? I’m here to tell you that self-care is more than just doing yoga and taking bubble-baths. (Don’t get me wrong, those things can work wonders, but it’s not… Read more »
It’s Okay to be the Squeaky Wheel
When I was in high school, I asked my dad why we hadn’t played tennis together in a while, despite the fact that I had mentioned wanting to months earlier, but that he had gone to the park to play pass with my younger brother multiple times during those months. His response? “The squeaky wheel gets the most oil.” I had no idea what that meant, so he explained. My brother kept asking to go to the park and play, so he kept getting what he wanted. Meanwhile, I had only asked for what I wanted once. I just thought that once was enough and that we would eventually get around to playing. Honestly, that was unrealistic. I’m the oldest of four, and we all have our own needs and… Read more »
Self Care Isn’t Only Bubble Baths and Hot Tea, Sometimes It’s Simpler
Self-care is a necessary part of life in order for people to stay healthy, rested, and well. Sometimes life can just get too hectic and it’s important to remember to take a step back and take care of ourselves. Especially in activist spaces we tend to be so focused on others that our own well being can easily get pushed aside. Luckily however there exists the concept of self-care. Before I was even introduced to the terminology a year or so ago that notion has always existed. And it can look a variety of different ways for different people. Self-care can look like taking quiet time to read a favorite book, taking a long warm shower, or splurging on desert or a new piece of clothing. As the concept of… Read more »
Treat Yo’ Self: Activist Self-Care
Working to create heal communities and comfortable spaces for everyone can be draining and we need to make sure we are making time for ourselves so that we don’t burn out. You’re doing amazing work, just don’t forget to treat yourself once in a while. This past weekend my friends hosted a feminist brunch where we were able to talk about all of the stresses of activism and living in patriarchal society. We talked about everything from how Emma Watson’s feminism speech for the UN didn’t quite do us justice, how all the white boy organizers love Chris Crass and why some of us are not on board with his allyship, and about how we can keep spaces feminist within organizing while still being inclusive. As activists who are constantly devoting ourselves to… Read more »
