Vacations are a must for wellness

When I started my private practice, i committed to take a week off every quarter. You have to know how hard this was for me. I am a spartan in many ways and as a typical mom, tend to put myself last Or at least I did for many years until recently when my commitment to wellness became my message to others. I have always been a "practice what you preach" and "you can't take someone somewhere you haven't been" type of girl. The more I research, the more I realize Americans are probably the worst at self care of just about any culture.

The second classic mom issue is feeling guilt about doing anything for myself. It was easy to take vacations when the kids were little because they were family vacations. Its only been the past few years that I realized my deep need to get away alone. I frequently counsel moms of small children to be away from their kids a couple hours a day what ever it takes. You are just a better mom when you take care of yourself. Your energy changes. We forget we are energy beings and impact others more by our presence than our words. We don't get to control that by faking it. We communicate louder by our presence than our words.

We are one of the most anxious and depressed nations in the world in spite of all of our comforts. More americans are on anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications than any other country.

Vacations do something nothing else does. We escape the daily stress; we rest; we connect to the earth; we change routine; we might even have fun. We dont realize we need one until we get back home and feel like a different human being. our brain and energy resets in an intangible but cumulative way. Stress is like the proverbial frog in a pot of water with the temperature slowly increasing until we are cooked.

Vacations do not have to be expensive. I am the queen of good deals and economical vacations. But we do need to take them. Im pretty sure everyone can find a way to do this if they realize how important it is to health. Sickness, disease and depression cost a lot more in the long run. Americans are not skilled in prevention. Wellness is about prevention.

Find your happy place - mine is the beach.