Self Care Is Not Selfish
Launch library · evergreen read
It can feel uncomfortable to prioritise your own needs while supporting someone else, but self care is what actually sustains your ability to help them. This is a quiet but essential part of supporting others well over time. It is worth protecting, even when everything else feels urgent right now. It reflects care for yourself just as much as for anyone else.
Reframing self care as a responsible part of supporting others well, rather than a distraction from it, can ease this common feeling of guilt. It is a genuinely reasonable thing to prioritise for yourself too. This is worth treating as seriously as the support you give to others. This becomes easier with small, consistent habits practised over time.
1800RESPECT is on 1800 737 732, and Lifeline is on 13 11 14, both available any hour for supporters working through this feeling. Taking that first step counts for a great deal, however small it feels. Support is there for exactly as long as you happen to need it. You do not have to work through this entirely on your own.