Self Care is the Best Healthcare
by Nancy Sopkowiak
One of
my favorite quotes is, “If you don’t take care of
your body, where will you live?” (Nan Ottenritter, www.
aacc.nche.edu.) For me, regular exercise is a life saver.
Tonight I took a break from writing to do some strength training. I had been
doing a bunch of paperwork today, and I kept putting off the workout. It’s
hard to write about self care when you’re not doing it. Sometimes I’m
real consistent other days I’m not.
I remember a few years
ago I was on bed-rest due to really painful complications from
colitis. (Colitis is a colon disease. Trust me, you do not want
the details.) Because of the pain, I became so depressed that I
was unwilling to try any physical therapy or physical activity.
On top of that, the muscle pain and weakness with my fibromyalgia
gets worse when I’m not active. Within few months, I went from
relatively independent to so weak that I couldn’t even lift
a glass of water. Then I got more depressed because I couldn’t
take care of myself or my kids, so I gave up. My family had to kick
me in the butt to get me started again. It took many months—and
a lot of effort—to get me back to my early status of relative
independence.
I’ve generally
had the most success with exercise when I am excited about achieving
an exercise goal. That spring I set a goal to walk around Lake
Calhoun by August. In May I could only do a couple of blocks. The
day I decided to go for it, my Aunt Lynne went with me. She patiently
walked at my pace. I was moving pretty slowly, and I had to stop
to rest several times. It was the best feeling when we got all
the way around. I was so happy that I could share that moment with
her because all along she had shared my struggles.
At some point, it really
hit me that I don’t get to pick my
health problems, but I do have a choice about taking care of myself.
Clearly that makes a huge difference in our quality of life. When
I focus on self care like exercise, I can achieve more independence.
Lately I have been getting a big kick out of driving my car and going
to hear music with friends. Life has become much more fun because
I have more energy and less pain.
My physical therapist,
Holly is always telling me about the benefits of exercise. She
says exercising helps prevent or lift depression, alleviates pain,
burns calories—which can keep the extra pounds
off, is good for the heart, improves asthma, boosts self esteem,
builds muscle, helps you sleep better, and relieves stress. It’s
hard to argue when you know their right.
My experiences and coach
training helped me discover that setting achievable goals is an
enjoyable way to get healthy, physically and mentally. I’ve also found, for myself, that I’m more
likely to achieve ambitions if I tell somebody my plan. For the last
few years I’ve had a target to swim the half mile across Red
Cedar Lake at my parent’s Wisconsin home. The first year I
made it about 10 yards, and last year I swam over halfway across.
The family swims across together every year. It’s a really
great tradition with three generations swimming, the ages span from
11 to 70. My dad is the oldest swimmer in the group; he started as
a kid on the Hibbing Junior High swim team. I figure if my 70 year
old father can make it across the lake, there is hope for me. My
parents plan to sell their lake home soon, so this summer will probably
be my last chance. My goal is to get in better shape by August, and
swim across the lake. I’ll let you know how it comes out. Hopefully
sharing my plan with you will help me to stay motivated.
Do you have a self care story
or a goal you want to achieve? I would love to hear your experiences
and plans. If you want to share something, please email me at NancyLife
Coach@msn.com. Thanks.
