By Sally Oberski
Welcome to Conversations, a place where I will share thoughts about women and mental health here on Skinology’s website. I call it Conversations, because as women we have a lot of conversations every day. Stephie, the founder of Skinology and I have had many conversations about women and their well-being, inside and out. From these conversations Stephie graciously invited me to offer some of the thoughts I’ve shared with her about women and mental health.
In full transparency I am not a therapist or a counselor. I currently work with employee wellness experts in the healthcare industry, and I've spent most of my working years in marketing, retail and law offices. In my current work, I’ve become passionate about mental and physical well-being, and I want to help women understand what well-being really means. I've also curated helpful resources I use in my self-care that I will share with you.
We know that when we spend time getting facials, massages and other treatments at Skinology we feel better emotionally and physically. We feel more confident. We also know that when we step out of the calmness and beauty of our appointment we step back into our world of responsibilities, challenges and life in general. And how quickly we forget how good that hour we spent in self-care made us feel. We should not feel selfish or indulgent about it. Our mental and physical well-being should have a balance to help us simply just get through the day sometimes.
So, what really is well-being? Self-care? Mindfulness? Well-being, often described as your state of being mentally and physically, has exploded over the last few years. This is largely due to the pandemic that changed so much of what we knew as life before COVID. Well-being in the workplace has escalated as we navigate more work from home and reduced staffing from workforce reductions, resignations and business closures. The popular phrase work/life balance is quickly being replaced with work/life harmony as the balance part becomes more effusive with increased workloads.
Mindfulness is often described as being present in the moment. When you're standing in line at the grocery store are you on your phone texting, reading emails, or scrolling through your Instagram? What if during that time you spend in line you keep your phone in your pocket and take a deep breath or two, or three, consciously drop your shoulders down and say hello to the cashier. Ask he/she/they how their day is going. That's mindfulness. That's being present, and it's that simple. Next time you go to a concert resist the urge to take out your phone and record the artist. Just watch and listen and remember how you feel at that moment. I remember those moments from a recent John Mayer concert better than the video I haven't event gone back to watch on my phone.
Caring about yourself should never come with guilt, because whether you take care of yourself by spending an hour alone away from kids and partners, sitting in silence in the car for a few extra minutes after running errands, scrolling TikTok, or reading a book last thing at night or first thing in the morning, you are preparing yourself to be better for others.
So, take your “me” time. Close your eyes for a few minutes and breathe. Make that coffee date with people who make you laugh. Go have that glass of wine after work to sort out the day—or forget the day. And schedule that appointment at Skinology!
