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Katie Kramer, RN/Life Coach/Author
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Radical Self-Care

1/9/2017

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The Monday of Christmas week, I was in surgery for a second time--a follow-up to a procedure I'd had two months earlier. This was supposed to be the final nip and tuck that was going to fix my problem.

One of my super powers is that I have a high tolerance to pain. I delivered three, seven-pound babies without any medication, and I was reminded of this handy super power during the first surgery.

I breezed through it without so much as a whimper, so I was expecting the same this time.

And it was. But because I also felt "fine" just hours after surgery, I assumed I was cured and began to overdo my activity.

I went shopping. I baked and cooked. I went out to eat.

On day three post-op, my incision was still intact and pain-free, but my throat started feeling raw and scratchy. Assuming it was from being intubated while on the operating table, I ignored the symptoms that suggested a cold was settling in.

I normally don't get sick, not even a sniffle, so I am not used to slowing down when my body needs to rest. But within hours, my cough singed the lining of my throat and pulled at my stitches. I felt more tired than I had after surgery just a few days before.

No matter how quickly I thought I'd recovered from being cut open, it was obvious that my body was trying to get my attention by saddling me with a cold. I may not have felt post-surgical pain, but my body needed rest and comfort in order to heal.

And I was failing to listen.

I had to practice radical self-care if I had any hope of healing completely.

So I did. I binge-watched ten episodes of This Is Us, and marathoned through three movies in a row. I stayed in my jammies for two solid days. I napped on the couch, midday. I declined offers from friends for coffee. And I stayed home from work longer than I'd intended to.

And bit by tiny bit, I started feeling better. My body was given a chance to heal because I chose to acquiese and let it take over.

Because, as I have learned countless times over many years, it always knows best.

My throat stopped burning, my cough receded, and my stitches were no longer getting tugged out of place. I even returned to work in time for our Christmas party!

Perhaps if I hadn't gotten a cold, I wouldn't have slowed down. Perhaps I wouldn't have healed properly. Perhaps I would've missed more work, or heaven forbid--my work party!

But my body is wiser than I am, and it knew I was not going to slow down because I wasn't feeling any pain. So in its wise ways, it slammed me with a four-day cold that put me in my place--on the couch with movies and plenty of rest.

It did not care that Christmas was fast-approaching, or that I wanted to get shit done.

It only cared that I heal. Because my body, in all of its infinite protection, loves me.

And our bodies are always pushing us toward healing.

When have you needed to practice radical self-care, but kept on going, instead? Did your body rebel anyway? 

As the holidays come to a close, it's important that we don't overwhelm ourselves and burn ourselves out; we must slow down, say 'no' when we're taking on too many obligations, and w
e must practice radical self-care.

Especially if it feels foreign. Or like wasted time. Or a bother.

It's when we listen to the wisdom of our bodies that miracles are allowed to happen. 

Happy 2017!


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    Author

    After being raised in the mid-west, I migrated south for high school (with a year in Brazil) and college, and ventured west for a long marriage (and later, divorce)...and eventually landed in the northwest--my real home. Sigh. 

    I am a Teacher, Healer, Single Mother, Nurse, Coach, Columnist, Artist, Author, Traveler, Motivator...eager to share myself with you. 

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