Why Fitness Is Self-Care For Me

I’m sure you’re well aware with the concept of self care. To me, self care is prioritizing your mental and physical needs regardless of what’s going on around you. I don’t mean to act like I have it all together, and I certainly don’t hold a candle to all the ladies out there raising kiddos but I definitely need an outlet some days.

I used to think self care was about making your outside feel good. Whether that was getting a manicure, massage, a new hair do or bubble bath. I tried these things but honestly they brought along more stress. Trying to schedule time to go somewhere stressed me out and I really didn’t want to deal with cleaning the bathroom after I was done.
Then I had a huge realization! Self care is taking care of your mental health too! I couldn’t really unwind because my stress was still there. I felt like I had to do SOMETHING. Even if it didn’t fix anything, I just couldn’t stay still.

Let me preface this by saying there is a history of mental illness in my family. However, it’s totally taboo in our culture to get help. It’s changing with education but I watched family members suffer with crippling depression that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I had a period of depression where I did have to take medicine and attend therapy when I was younger.
Being stuck in my head didn’t help. I began to workout for my health. I was gaining weight fast and I knew it wasn’t going to end well. I slowly began to realize that my mind was much clearer after I went on runs. Soon, I began to crave that time and my days wouldn’t be the same without it.

Once I began working out consistently, my stress level began to go down. I no longer let things swim in my head. I feel better but I’ve had people tell me I look happy. Yes, my body has become more toned but mentally, I’m in a place I haven’t been in a long time.

It sounds so cliche but working out is my therapy. I’ve been on runs where I’ve cried, screamed out to God, questioned everything but finished with clarity. Spin classes has become an outlet for me when my job has just beat me down. I’ve cried on that bike more times that I can count but I would leave with a huge weight off my shoulder.

Pushing my body for those 45 minutes gives me the peace of mind that I crave. Even if the problem is still there, I feel better because I did something. Staying still and letting things build up doesn’t work in my favor. I don’t always have to have a crazy workout, even a nice walk outside leaves me refreshed. I just need to get out and do SOMETHING.
I’m sure people see that I workout a lot and call me crazy. That’s fine because I know that this is vital to my mental health. I’ll take time to prioritize this in my life so I can be a better wife and friend to those around me. This has truly been a life changer for me!

How do you prioritize self care? What’s one thing you just NEED to do for yourself?