Take Care…In the Extreme!

by Kelly Renaud, Self-Care Guide, Alchemy 4 My Soul

Self-care is a term that is bandied about a lot these days. People often think it means activities like taking a bubble bath, curling up with a good book or movie, or getting some exercise. Absolutely! These are great forms of self-care. And did you know there is so much more when it comes to caring for yourself, with or without a chronic illness?

As a fibro warrior with multiple comorbidities, part of my path of growth and awakening has led me to realize that my soul’s purpose is to share self-care tools with others. It is why I facilitate meditation and journalling both inside and outside the fibro community and why I started my Facebook page, Alchemy 4 My Soul.

From time to time on my journey, I have read books that have been full of eureka moments and I want to share one with you today.

“The Art of Extreme Self-Care” by Cheryl Richardson is a book I feel everyone should read. I actually wondered several times while reading it how my life would potentially be different if I had read and heeded Cheryl’s sage advice long ago. To see how powerful it is, just have a look at the statements found at the front of the book and see how they resonate with you.

Some of these statements are more reflective of my life when I was still able to be in the workplace but wow! Could I see myself in every one?!

The book is laid out in a way that I found great to read for someone like myself who frequently has cognitive challenges – nice short chapters, divided into little, digestible chunks. Each chapter includes a challenge that is intended to be undertaken over the space of a month, as well as some terrific resources for follow-up or deeper study if interested.

The author recommends that you read through the entire book once before deciding which challenge you want to start with, and humorously nudges the reader that perhaps the topic that least appeals to you is the one you need to address first. 😉

In the most recent version of the book, Richardson also includes some guidelines for creating and running a support group for working your way through the book, which helps with accountability, if that appeals to you.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read-through and found that, even though I was not starting on the challenges right away, the awareness of the topics and the suggestions to address them were already planted as seeds in long-fertile soil. I started to recognize opportunities in my life to start making small changes immediately! I really hope you will give this book a try. I have already recommended it to so many people and am glad to give it a ringing endorsement here to reach a wider audience.

Take (extreme) care!