Welcome to our new monthly blog series: Take Charge of Your Health and Wellness! This blog expands on our A Guide to Caring for Yourself by sharing various topics covering the full circle of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. On the 8th of each month, we'll share why the monthly topic is important and provide you with tips for taking action. No matter where you are on your journey, with those beside you, we’re here to uplift and support you.
For the month of February, we have two simple tasks to kick things off. First, show some love to yourself by saying YES to improving your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It seems like an easy ask, but often we find so many reasons to say no to our needs. We put everyone else first, as we are exhausted by life (work, responsibilities, commitments to family/friends, and most especially the daily impact of your cancer journey or other health demands). Simply say YES for now and embrace the possibility of change. If it’s helpful to you, think of a word or mantra to remind yourself every day of why you matter—why taking charge of your health and wellness is important to you.
Second, spend some time this month to determine where you are with your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. To move forward and make progress, we must first take stock of where we are! Jot down a few notes related to your overall health and wellness. Include common items like physical activity, nutrition, hydration, sleep, and stress, as well as items that contribute to your emotional well-being, such as mindfulness, support systems, and self-care activities. Our Take Charge! A Tool to Caring for Yourself may help guide you in this task. If you feel comfortable in sharing your results with us (your word, your mantra, and/or your assessment), we can develop future blogs to address your needs!
Just remember, this is your journey. Know that the path ahead may consist of giant leaps, small steps, and a few stubborn roots along the way. Commit to yourself, love yourself, and most of all, as our Ms. August, Raquel McMillan shares, “It’s not enough to survive cancer, you have to live!”