Giving ourselves the gift of a vacation is a way of taking care of ourselves. Whether it's time in the Caribbean, laying on a beach on Long Island, or a staycation, taking time off from our busy, stressful, structured lives is vital, and from my perspective, emotionally healthy.
Break the Cycle
Every day we wake up to a written, or mental, list of tasks we have to complete for our family, our job, and to maintain our household. This routine can become mundane, or frustrating, as we often delay things we want to do, in favor of what we have to do. A vacation provides us with permission to forget about that list for a while. It's so important for our emotional health to break the cycle of, "have to's", and allow ourselves to experience, "want to's", for a period of time to prevent the feeling of being burnt out.
Whether we are an executive of a major company, a healthcare professional, office worker, auto mechanic, or a stay at home mom, or dad, we all need time away from our daily routines. This break provides us with the opportunity to take care of ourselves.
A time where we can:
·Regroup
·Replenish
·Relax
·Nurture ourselves
It's important to make certain we don't wait all year for this one opportunity. Being sure to make time to incorporate fun and relaxing activities into our day throughout the year and take care of ourselves is essential for emotional health.
But there's something really important about having several consecutive days, or weeks, during the year for a vacation to permit ourselves to do nothing more than relax.
Contrasting our daily obligations with what we have to do, with a chunk of time devoted to what we want to do, refreshes the mind and body. Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D., psychology professor and author says, "Vacations have the potential to break into the stress cycle. We emerge from a successful vacation feeling ready to take on the world again."
We Deserve to Have Something to Look Forward To
For some, getting away and out of the house is really necessary to separate from the daily routine. Whether our routine consists of a job, family, chores, or other obligations. For others, just not working feels like enough of a break. Planning time for just staying at home and experiencing a little escape from daily obligations, a staycation, may be exactly what feels right.
Staying Home? What Can We Do on a Staycation?
·Sit in our backyards
·Listen to the birds
·Read
·Swim
·Walk in a local park
·Enjoy uninterrupted time for our favorite hobby
·Visit family and friends
Participate in enjoyable activities we've waited to do when we have the spare time. This designated time permits us to do whatever brings us peace and makes us happy.
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