4 Greatest Threats to Self-Care: How to become your own soulmate

1️⃣ Busyness (or the perception of it)

2️⃣ Doom scrolling

3️⃣ Social media

4️⃣ Sleep deprivation

Isn't is funny that our self-care is the first to go when we need it the most?

When we're overworked, under-slept -- running around like a wild horse -- these are the times when self-care seems like a luxurious dream.

"I don't have time for self-care," the refrain goes. The "fixes" for stress seem farthest away when stress is the greatest.

Yet they're right here under our noses:

✅ Take a walk

✅ Meditate for 5 minutes

✅ Set your phone aside

Yet, rather than take small moments to check in with ourselves, to get back to ourselves, when we finally stop -- we go BIG. We go numb, shutdown, or escape completely with something -- anything -- that's not work.

Numbing and escapism become our substitutes for self-care.

In Vietnamese, the word for soulmate is "tri ky", which means "one who remembers, knows and masters oneself," writes Buddhist nun Sister Dang Nghiem, aka Sister D, in her recent article in Tricycle, "How to Be Your Own Soulmate".

What does it mean to remember oneself?

How can being with oneself, not running away, in times of struggle and suffering lead to healing and happiness?

How can our darkest moments, coming up against limitations such as injury, depression and aging become our greatest teachers?

What do these times have to teach us about the deeper meaning of self-care and the importance of being our own soulmate?