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Your Health at the
busiest time of the year!
The last two months of
the year are some of the busiest and most stressful for Americans. Holiday
preparations, parties and gift-giving consume time and money and can cloud
even the most sunny optimist's enthusiasm. It's the perfect time, experts
say, to pause and give a gift to the most important person in your life:
you.
"If we don't love and cherish ourselves, we can't extend that to
others," says Janet Gillen, L.C.S.W., a psychotherapist in private
practice in San Francisco. "A lack of positive self-regard creates
unnecessary stress and negativity in our lives," she adds.
Gillen recommends adults take time from their busy pre-holiday schedules
to give small gifts to themselves.
"Periodically we need treats which nurture and indulge and make us
recognize we're important to ourselves," Gillen says. Gifts to
yourself don't need to be expensive or complicated. "Buy a special
brew of coffee or some fresh flowers, or take a walk in a lovely setting,
surrounding yourself with beauty," Gillen recommends.
Words and gestures can go a long way toward building your self-esteem.
Brad Bernstein, Ph.D., a performance coach in Oakland, Calif., says,
"Make a point of starting your sentences with the phrases 'I can' ...
'I do' ... and 'I am.'" And, he says, be as generous with yourself as
you are with others. "Give yourself credit, a pat on the back, and
make the effort to recall the good things people have said about
you." Gillen adds that, "Too often we are our own harshest
critics. Replace that critical voice with a supportive, nurturing
one."
Bernstein, author of the forthcoming book series, "The Model for
Success," recommends that you "Close your eyes and see the image
of your true self as always radiant, happy, successful and having
fulfilled its potential. Then, mirror that true self in your thoughts and
actions."
Other "gifts" that build self-esteem include maintaining
connections with others through volunteering and social activity.
"It may be as simple as helping your elderly neighbor with her trash
or striking up a conversation with the person sitting next to you on the
bus," Gillen says.
Taken from:
Give to
Yourself
By Ellen Griffin
ThirdAge Staff
www.thirdage.com
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