So first up today we are talking
about the importance of self care and
what it means to different people in a
huge part of self care to me is having
those important social connections.
So I've asked my friends and
colleagues alimony and Angelo Russell
to join us here on stage. Thank you
yeah, thanks for having
us. I feel called out 'cause I'm like.
Did she know how we have not been
practicing this? Called me out of here.
I know as moms
we were just talking before
the camera started rolling.
How hard it is to self care ourselves
and we're taking care of making
breakfast for everybody else.
Yeah, I'm not. I'm not a mom yet,
but I feel like I still have to.
I'm with you, Angela.
I still gotta like improve myself.
Care right now. You know what
does that mean to you? What does
improving it mean to you? I
would say just staying on my routines.
For me, it's exercise.
It's eating healthy.
And I mean I have a therapist and I talk
about that worker and she keeps me.
She's like you doing self care right now, no?
Gotta keep up those good routines.
I think that just you know,
help you help you stay good. I'm
so horrible with that. What about you?
Well I was gonna say my therapist is
totally called me out on that too.
She'll be like are you taking time for
yourself care and I'll be like, well,
I know it's hard just like now. No excuses,
it sounds like it's great.
It's a great accountability partner sister.
Reminds you to do it and I think that's
probably why I have not done so well at it.
I think for me what it means though.
It means listening to myself and
and not dismissing my feelings
and listening to yourself.
At least for me. It can mean OK,
I really need a break or I really
need this and dismissing that I think
it creates a lot of anxiety for a
lot of people leases depression.
So for me the root of it is just always am.
I listening to what I need? It's
a really good point.
It's a really good point.
What about social connections?
I know that throughout the pandemic
I realized very quickly that some
of the people I hadn't talked to
in years are very important to me,
so I've been able to reconnect
like the zoom thing,
and that has been really key
to remembering who I am.
You know how your old friends
will make you do that?
Yeah, I mean for me, I agree.
During the pandemic it was just
reconnecting with old friends
and keeping those close to me
and the people I love in contact
and checking on people as well.
You know, checking on your friends
and it just made me realize over the
past year and a half how important and
how grateful I am to those people.
I have to admit it can be really
hard to make time for the social
connections we have so many
obligations between work
and family, but what's really been
meaningful to me is having connections.
That are empathetic and I don't know
how often this is happening to you.
Where you you maybe talk to a friend
and something comes up and it's like,
well, at least this didn't happen.
Or they try to best you with their problem,
right, right? And so even if it's just
one or two friends who were able to say,
you know, I am so sorry.
This must be so hard.
How can I help you?
And so it's made me think when time
when it when I'm in a crunch for time,
how can I have a connection and how?
How can I have a connection that's
going to support that and nurture that?
And then how can I be that?
For that person, because a reminder.
OK, am I am I.
Yeah yeah I doing
that for someone. Yes, you
know one of the things I love about you
is how you are so able to put things into
words that I've been feeling and we're
going through because you're so right.
I had friends who I would get done hanging
out with and I didn't feel good afterwards.
Yes, so yeah, stop seeing those friends
because if you don't feel good if they're
not doing exactly what Angela just said
and put into words so beautifully,
then you're not doing it right? Well,
let me just tell you this really quick.
Yes, Dorothy poquott.
My mom used to always tell
me Angela people are like.
Elevators, they either take you up
or they take you down and it was.
So yeah, when you're done hanging
out with them, how do you feel?
And if you don't feel great,
then stop doing it.
I I love that. Oh my God yes,
self care, self care Dorothy Poe.
So OK now we're heading into the grey
months here in the Pacific Northwest.
You know, I? I think we're going to
be running to Western Washington
for a little sunshine or Eastern
Washington for a little sunshine.
Western Washington very great.
What do you do to stay
positive when it gets great?
You know? Honestly,
I buy that bottle of vitamin D and I
started taking vitamin D just because.
I found that really helps me.
And yeah, I think the biggest thing
this year is just acknowledging
that I get sadder in these months.
Like forever. I was like, oh,
that doesn't happen to me,
but I'm like, you know, what?
It's OK and it's OK to just take it
slower and take care of yourself.
That was deep because I was sitting
here when you ask that question.
I was like I don't have an answer
yet because I haven't figured that
out yet and so I was waiting to hear
what you two were going to say.
And I love that because I can't
always solve going to a sunny
place I can't solve, you know,
trying to positive iti myself.
To death, but then you know what.
Just acknowledge I'm sad.
Is is a way of listening to yourself
and just saying, yeah, I think it's
OK to sit with it. I agree. Yeah
I think it's OK to embrace it as it
comes and go. OK, we're doing this
and they don't get a happy light.
So I love my hat. What do you do?
Do you do anything during? You know?
I do actually very much the same.
I actually I noticed after
my mom passed and I was sad.
I felt almost like the grayness kind of
enveloped me in warmth in that weird way.
And that's when I started to change the
connection to the grey and just say,
hey, let's just embrace it.
All right, practicing gratitude
is also good for mental and this
is something I need to do more.
I need to get one of those gratitude journal.
Uh, yeah,
yeah it can be hard it it can.
I think practicing gratitude
is one of the hardest and I
personally need to do that more.
I do journal though. Yes,
that's so key. I used to do that.
Yeah, music is good for me.
I definitely have songs like there's this
one song by Rita Ora called grateful.
And so I try to listen to that piece.
But then I also think about you've.
Heard of Russell Wilson's mental
conditioning coach Trevor Mowad.
He said sometimes and he
recently passed away.
He leaves so many good teachings behind,
but he talked about sometimes when
it's hard to be positive or or make
yourself grateful just reducing the
negative and that can just be like.
Digestible for people to do
I I 100% agree. Reducing the negative.
I have learned so much from you wonderful
ladies talking with you about all this in
a few minutes, but the few
minutes I learned all this so I
am so grateful for your time.
We're grateful for you.
I love spending time with you.
Please more more time.
Let's try not to.
Accountability partner
ourselves right exactly this
Oh my goodness alright,
well you guys can follow
and get more information,
but you can also find out more and
you know mental health options.
That's what we're talking about.
What's out there you can.
Visit the website on your screen
to find out more and we're going to
have a lot of resources about this
throughout the entire show, so stick
around 'cause self care.
It's a big topic.
We also want to hear what
self care means to you.
So I spent some time down at
Pike Place Market asking folks
that very question
my skin care routine.
It's something that I do every night.
It's something no matter
how busy I am in the day.
It's the number one constant that I
have that kind of brings me comfort
and helps me unwind at the end of the
day sitting all day from the computer.
The chair you get stiff so
I guess we just massage.
You know it's pretty much myself, Carrie.
Go to every now and then it's
important for me to spend time alone.
I have two kids to young kids
so anytime I can get to myself
hot shower by myself cooking in
the kitchen by myself. Yes
to the hot shower wolf.