Frontlines: Here Is Your Permission To Take Care Of You

I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again. Actually this time I’m shouting it from the rooftop. It’s ok not to be ok. And it’s ok to walk away. The weight of the world has been on our shoulders for entirely too long & it’s time to start asking for our own help.

While the world fights over a virus & all of the collective trauma from the pandemic shows up in anger, hate, rage and fear- the frontlines are still deeply in it. They are digging deep to find the will to show up to work & I know their mental health is suffering greatly. This isn’t a political post. This is a call to action. A please take a breath & start taking care of yourself post. We are not super humans designed to live in a prolonged state of survival & save the world. The fact that we have been at war with a virus consistently for over a year and half is baffling. It is essential you start putting YOU first. And for some of us it is not our fight to fight anymore- and that is absolutely ok.

My heart has been heavy lately. Covid is a dumpster fire in Texas. And while I’ve struggled with my own guilt for not being in the ER anymore (and have been tempted to go back a few times) I’m quickly reminded of how not ok I was at the end of 2020. It’s not my fight to fight anymore. I had to start fighting for my own mental health & peace of mind. I share my story in hopes it will give people the courage to stop feeling guilty & start taking care of themselves. This isn’t a post for sympathy- it is a post to promote mental health & self care as our number 1 priority now. If we don’t have our own oxygen masks on we have nothing.

So this post is to give you permission.

Permission to stop picking up overtime because you feel guilty.

Permission to stop being hard on yourself if you feel terrible or have a short fuse with your loved ones.

Permission to lay in bed for three days if you need to & call out of work.

Permission to stop & take time for yourself.

And if you are beat up & not ok- this is your permission to walk away.

If we don’t have our mental health we have nothing.

I fear this is only the tip of the iceberg. The collective burn out & trauma from this is going to be massive. So I need you to stop trying to save the world.

Find a stress relief yoga class, find a trauma informed therapist, get into nature, meditate, make sleep a priority. This pace is not sustainable.

We have collectively left our bodies & been living in survival mode through this. But I’ll tell you firsthand, it’s not sustainable. We need to find safe ways to get out of fight/flight & come back into our bodies. It’s imperative. Month after month- we have witnessed human suffering, death & destruction and had zero time to process or grieve any of it. We have felt completely helpless & afraid with no end in sight. That is trauma.

While I still struggle with my own guilt that I left, I know I needed to. I needed to process and heal my own trauma & grief from my life the last year and half. Maybe it’s time for you to do the same.

Please connect with me if you need resources or would like to try my stress relief & trauma healing yoga class. These classes are how I will help my people -- now I can help the healers and helpers heal. Please start taking care of you first. Put on your own oxygen mask. It’s not an option; it’s essential.

#frontlines #burnout #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #rockroseyoga #mentalhealthmatters #healingtrauma #traumainformedyoga #frontlinenurses #ernurse #pandemicburnout #ptsd #yogafitforwarriors #selfcareisessential #putonyourownoxygenmaskfirst✌🏻🖤🧠