Women’s Health Week (3-7th September) – Time to Put our Needs First

I was alarmed to read in a recent study Jean Hailes for Women’s Health National Survey of 15,000 women across Australia that 46% of respondents reported they had been diagnosed with depression or anxiety. Furthermore 67% reported daily feelings of anxiety or on edge. With so many of us struggling to feel good, it’s time to put our health first.

It seems that when it comes to mothers making time to visit the GP for their own health or make time for themselves we put ourselves at the bottom of the list. Are we over committed with competing responsibility? Do we feel guilty scheduling in down time? During the early years of caring for young children it can feel like there is no time to spare.

So, lets all make a commitment this week to doing one thing for ourselves that will improve our health. It could be booking in that long overdue dental appointment, having a massage to relieve the back pain you try to ignore each day, negotiating your partner to do a task you normally do or committing to making healthy food choices or physical activity to invest back in your health. 

Of course, there will be time barriers and an internal voice telling you why you can’t but for just one week silence that voice. View it as an experiment in whether making time for you gives back in other ways such as restored energy and self-worth.