Spoonie Self Care Club – November

Welcome back to The Spoonie Self Care Club. This is a joint blog venture between me and the lovely ladies at Colitis To Ostomy ad Rocking 2 Stomas to encourage you spoonies to follow some regular self care practices.

October’s Challenge

If you haven’t come across the Spoonie Self Care Club before you can check out the first post from last month by Stephie here. We were challenged to take some time for ourselves and read. My blog followers will know that this is something I love to do so it wasn’t difficult for me to enjoy! I will be posting a round up of everything I have read this month in my usual monthly book review post so keep your eye out for that!

November Challenge

So this month it is my turn to set the challenge and I want to take it back to basics. I have found that self care has become a bit of a buzz word lately. This is great as it’s encouraging more people to take a bit of time for themselves and keep a check on their mental well-being, as well as that of their partners, children etc.

However, in the Instagram world of daily highlights, we often see self care depicted as a shopping spree sans children, a trip to the spa, getting your nails done – all very nice and welcome treats but expensive and not something that can be regularly done by everyone.

Back To Basics

So for the month of November I want everyone reading to go back to basics. Focus on the self care that we need daily in our lives but we often don’t do as we are too busy looking after children (and partners), attending appointments and sometimes even intentionally depriving ourselves of -thinking we don’t deserve to show ourselves a bit of care and attention.

The things I want people to try and do every day are –

• HYDRATE – this is a huge one for me as an ostomate but actually, there are so many people who fail to hydrate themselves properly everyday. During November I want everyone to try and drink at least 2 litres of fluid a day (ostomates – you need 3 litres!)
• WORK ON A ROUTINE – this is particularly important at bedtime. Try and create a routine which relaxes you and prepares you body for rest. Switch off devices and social media. Have a warm, milky or decaf drink. Read a book. Meditate. Complete your skincare routine. Everyone’s routine will look different but give it some thought about what you want yours to be.
• EXERCISE – again, this will be individual to you depending on what you enjoy and what you are capable of but try and fit in 20 minutes of something every day. Even a walk can be super beneficial as the exercise combined with getting some fresh air can be so good for our well-being. YouTube has some great at home workouts available and there are also some fantastic workout apps out there. If you have been to a physio and have got specific exercises to do, do them!
• PERSONAL HYGIENE – May sound an obvious one but as a spoonie, I know how much of an effort this can be for people when they are chronically ill or depressed. If you don’t have the energy to shower or bath everyday, have a sink wash to help you feel a bit fresher. A perching stool is a great investment for the bathroom and will help you sit at the sink so you don’t have to spend a long time standing if this causes you problems.

I really hope everyone will benefit from this month’s challenge and enjoy it. You might try certain things that you find don’t work for you or you do not enjoy but that is the idea of the month – to see what works best for you.

Do let us know if you are joining in this month and if you completed the challenge last month – what did you read? What would you recommend? Let me know in the comments below! Follow my progress with these challenges on my Instagram feed and I will be back at the end of the month to check in on the biog. Good luck,