Self-care. Every day we are given the opportunity to do better. Whether with a workout, what we choose to eat or drink, whom we surround ourselves with, and how we keep our emotions in check or not.
Recently, I came across this acronym called H.A.L.T.
Hungry
Angry
Lonely
Tired
This is a great self-assessment tool that helps you stop, or HALT and see where you are in need of some self-care before you go down the road of self-destructiveness. I think it's safe to say we know that rabbit hole and don't want to revisit if we can help it!Â
HALT is here to make you stop and think about:
HUNGRY.Â
Are you hungry for junk foods? Maybe you just need to have fruit and nuts on hand to snack so you are not heading for salty or sweet junk foods. Keep that blood sugar in check. Â
But this can also be hungry for other things such as affection? Make sure you check in with friends and keep that support system open. This will help prevent you from looking for what you think is affection and from the wrong types of people.
ANGRY.
Anger. When pent-up emotions need to release... it's not a good sign. First, it shows we are not in control of our emotions (and sometimes we are overwhelmed, I get that). It's better to just have the conversation and be upfront and honest. That way we don't hold onto unnecessary emotions that build up and fester into anger.
LONELY.
Loneliness. As we have seen in many people, if you haven't felt this yourself, during 2020, 2021, and now 2022 pandemic. Loneliness can bring on a host of issues. Sometimes it causes us to withdraw. Check-in with yourself if you think you are lonely and call upon someone, have a zoom chat with family or friends OR there are so many groups or classes available online now that make you feel like you are part of something and have a connection, as you all enjoy that one thing!Â
TIRED.
I think I felt tired all of 2021, how about you?Â
Sometimes we need to give our schedule an overhaul. Change it up. Give certain days to certain projects.
And then there is physical tiredness once we reschedule our schedules. If you can nap, nap! Can you go to bed earlier? My brain likes 11:00 pm as bedtime but my body is sometimes slowly beginning to shut down at 9:30 pm. We need to listen to that. Even if we go to bed to read a little just taking ourselves away from the tv and phone and forcing ourselves to get rest will prevent tiredness. Recognize when you are tired and what can you do differently or how can you try and combat it. Maybe you are tired because you ate a high-sugary breakfast and are crashing before lunch and after lunch until dinnertime. So check in with your diet, sleep, and schedule. Also, it could be someone demanding more of your time... maybe you need to set up boundaries of who or what to let in and keep away. This can all lead to tiredness.
Use this self-assessment tool to assess your self-care needs. You will find it may be your diet causing a decline in each area or maybe you are not hydrating enough... which can make you hungrier and more tired.Â
NOURISH and nurture yourself in each area and the more you allow yourself to be aware of each one, the faster you will catch what you are low on or why you are craving the wrong hunger and you will learn how to combat it.Â
Remember to just HALT, assess why you are feeling this and what you need to combat it and put you back on track:
HUNGRY
ANGRY
LONELY
TIRED
Stay well and stay NOURISHED!
Thank you all for being on this journey with us,
Milka & Sporty
