I’ve lately been asked by Beehive Magazin to contribute to their monthly topic of self care by answering a few questions. Since the original article is in German, I wanted to give those who don’t read it a chance to enjoy what I wrote. The good news is that since then, Beehive has asked me to contribute on a monthly basis, so more of this to come 🙂 And now, for the article!

Can you briefly describe your current situation, privately and professionally?

I’m a certified health coach specializing in gut health, and studying at the moment to certify as a Functional Medicine Health Coach. I’m happily married to the love of my life, and am a proud mom of two feminist, foodie, talented boys.

What are you satisfied / not satisfied with?

Hmm, I guess I’m not satisfied when the men in the house don’t tidy up after themselves (a life-long battle). Generally I do try hard to see and gain the positive out of every situation, and keeping to a positive outlook on life.

To what extent has Covid19 influenced your current situation?

Just like most people out there, Covid was a hard pill to swallow. Work wise it was very difficult, and overnight from having a successful running business things just came to a halt. I had to reinvent myself and started offering healthy homemade meals, to help moms out there keep their families eating healthy while not spending every waking moment in the kitchen. Unfortunately, though my goal was to help others like me have an easier yet healthy time, it was wearing me out. After a few successful months of food delivery, I took a step back and decided to take some time to heal and recover from the overload of work I had.

What are you doing for yourself For your well-being, your energy?

This is a topic I work with my clients all the time. For me, food is one of the main sources of energy and self love. By giving my body what it thrives on I feel the love for myself, and the love back from my body. Other things that are just as important to me as nutrition, are sleep hygiene and stress management. I make sure to get my rest when needed, and get good quality sleep at night. My energy and focus during the day relies on how well I slept the night before. There are so many other things that affect our day to day life, so I try to control the things I can, in order to manage life better 🙂 We also practice stress management at home and with my clients. We have SO much stress nowadays, and especially during Covid times, that we all must know how to help our bodies calm down and focus more on our breath and to stay grounded.

What do you want to do but you can’t? Why not?

I would love to help more people. My dream is to have enough money in order to help anyone in need of help. I’m working on it 🙂 and meanwhile help those who I can help whichever way I can. Giving a hot meal to the homeless, tending to a crying child, helping families in need of basic things such as dry food or clothes on their backs. Of course I’d also love to see my family more frequently, which is not so easy nowadays. But I’m hopeful that things start looking up soon, and that we’d be able to spend more time with our loved ones.

Why do you think the subject of “self-care” is so trendy at the moment?

I honestly don’t know why it’s so trendy nowadays, I think it should have always been something to focus on! As someone who has gone through burnout and severe depression, I can tell you that self care is what helped me come back to life. We have to look at our bodies like we look at our car for example. We don’t dare give our cars the wrong type of gasoline and expect them to run smoothly and take up places safely without breaking down. So why would we do that to our own bodies? When we priorotize ourselves and our own health and well-being, we’re able to take care of our loved ones better, while also teaching them that sell care is and should always be priority.

Women in particular are repeatedly advised to “look to themselves”. “Self-care” does not seem to be a male issue. Why?

I’m not sure it’s not a male issue. I do think that most men have been raised being told “don’t cry like a little girl” and “be a man” etc. This makes it much harder on men to express emotions. At the same time, it’s easier for men to simply take a moment for themselves, since a lot of men aren’t as involved in the household. Women are considered the main caregivers in the household still, which means that their priority will be to go home and cook or do the laundry, while a man will feel more comfortable stopping over for a drink on the way back from work…

How can we pass on our self-care experiences to our children?

One of the most important things is to show the right example. Kids see a lot more than they hear 🙂 But of course the next thing is of course also to make sure and teach them that their wellbeing is important, more than anything else! If they hear you say it AND see you do it as well, they are more likely to practice it themselves.

What contribution can society make to relieve mothers?

I think that as soon as a woman becomes a mother, she’s no longer seen as an individual, but rather as “the mom of…”. This has to change. Going to visit a woman who just gave birth should be focused on giving the mom a hand, letting her rest, helping with the cooking or cleaning, or simply bringing over a huge basket of fruit and nuts for her to munch on while feeding her child. Giving her a giftcard for a babysitter or a massage, etc.

Another big topic is women who experience depression. If you broke an arm in the middle of the street people would run up to help and get you to the hospital. This is not the case when someone expressed they are depressed. This really needs to change, and more help should be provided to those who do, and especially to young mothers who are in a very dark place and need to tend a tiny human at the same time.