I have a ritual that I do daily, almost without thinking about it anymore. As I am walking to or from the time clock at work, I take a deep breath (sometimes closing my eyes, sometimes not) and work on trying to relax and release some of the stress that I am physically holding in my body. I try to relax my overly tight muscles, correct my posture so that my body is more open, and moves more freely, and let go of all the things that are bearing down on me after a long shift. (I do this other times too, but this is the most regular.)

That deep, cleansing breath is the first and most important step of the whole process. Sometimes, even just stopping to just breathe is the most important thing you can do to release stress and tension from your body, and free your mind to focus on finding a solution. Breathe deeply and get oxygen flowing to your brain and to your rebelling, clenched muscles. Find a tiny moment of mindfulness to be fully in the moment, not worrying over the next thing you have to do, and the next, and the 50 things after that. Just breathe in and breathe out, slowly and deeply.

Today was a pretty good day, even if I have to go to work now. I took advantage of a lazy Sunday to take a long, vanilla creme scented bubble bath, have a spa day, and pamper myself a bit. Self-Care is a necessity that is often overlooked, and that was brought back into sharp focus for me recently. It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day stresses of our lives, especially in harder times, and forget why any of it matters. If you let that happen, after a while – it doesn’t. We need to remember to take care of ourselves.

Maybe I’m talking about depression, but I really mean on a more basic level. If you’ve ever played The Sims, you can see how in the beginning, you are so busy trying to build the house, make enough money so that your sim can have a decent bed and bathroom, food in the house, and maybe a bit of entertainment. At the same time, you are trying to increase their skill level so that they can get a better job, don’t burn down the house while trying to cook dinner, and maybe afford a maid (because who has the time!). The next thing you know, they are throwing a sim fit and ranting about how they have no fun, or no social life, or are sleeping on the sidewalk, or wetting themselves in public. Maybe I just have terrible time management skills, or secretly enjoying watching them suffer their way to greatness, but really, don’t we all feel like that sometimes?