Who would argue that summer is typically the busiest time of the year…keeping kids busy, family events, maintaining our gardens and outdoor spaces, embracing as much outdoor activities and events with others as possible, home projects, and vacations, for example. We may become so busy doing and going that we forget just being.
I try to take a lesson from Sunflowers, one of my favorite flowering plants. Since I feed sunflower seeds to visiting birds, they often end up dropping them here and there, providing welcome blooms to unexpectedly pop up in random places. I just love that! These flowers remind me to take things easy, go with the flow, and always follow the sun. Tapping into the rhythm of nature, rather than following the expected demands typical of the summer season is so important to my emotional well-being. Attempting to rise to every opportunity summer brings is exhausting and can actually leave me feeling even more stressed and unrested.
From my personal perspective, it’s important to sift out the unessential requests on my time and energy and to focus instead on what brings me joy, which often includes more rest. Pleasing everyone is simply impossible, so distinguishing what’s really needed versus what can reasonably wait or be ignored altogether can be imperative to my emotional well-being.
Do you practice emotional self-care? It is certainly beneficial to maintain a boundary for yourself, what you can and cannot give energy to, rather than to seek relief after you’re already over-extended or burned out. There are times, of course, we have to let our boundary be breeched, especially when it involves the needs of our loved ones or in an emergency. But generally speaking, there are methods or boundaries that we can regularly practice or maintain to keep our emotional energy and schedule simple, and to hopefully avoid the dreaded overwhelm. Even with a busy work/life routine, many of the following suggestions are easy to fit into your day: get enough sleep, take a walk, stretch, organize something, time with pets, journaling, fresh air and sunshine, healthy eating, meditation/mindfulness, time with loved ones, nature immersion, creative outlets/hobbies, reading, saying ‘no’ more often, laugh, do something nice for someone, practice kindness.
Of course, a balanced approach to self-care includes other facets of care along with the emotional aspect, like our physical and spiritual well-being. But given the busy nature of summertime, don’t forget to address your emotional needs, as well. Your nerves will thank you!
Herbs that you might consider incorporating into your life that help to support emotional well-being may include our Happy Heart Tonic and Happy Nerve formulas. Each provide a different blend of soothing herbs such as Hawthorne, Linden, California Poppy, Skullcap, Motherwort, Mugwort, and Yarrow, for example. Our single-herb extracts of Rose or Prairie Wild Rose may also assist in reducing stress and to comfort the emotional heart. Perhaps you would find comfort and support in a tea blend or an herbal bath soak? Soothing recipes for both are provided in our blog “Dried Herb Recipes”, as well as the herbal formulas mentioned above at our website.
We hope this information has given you inspiration to mindfully slow down the remaining time of summer and enjoy the simple things! What emotional self-care practices will you apply?
[This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any condition. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.]
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