The Emotional Cup: Is yours full?

We’re brought up to believe you should put other’s needs before your own, but how can you give to others, if you’re running on empty?

It’s easy to think that we are fine, when everything is chugging along and you’re hitting every curveball life’s throwing you. It’s normal for our bodies to have an adrenaline response to stress, so that we can get things done, but it’s an illusion. When you finally stop, it hits you and you’re exhausted and become sleeping beauty until the next bout of pressure sets in. Surprise surprise, this cycle isn’t healthy long term.

Creating the habit of checking how full your cup really is, allows you to see how low your reserves have gotten – far better to realize and remedy sooner, rather than later.

So how do you fill your empty cup? Self-care. Self-care is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation; the importance of we as humans nurturing ourselves in order to keep the cup full.

‘Too often, lack of self-care leads to unmanaged stress: a cascading impact making us vulnerable to physical illness, anxiety and depression, and an inability to manage the demands of caring for family and friends, and not to overlook, limited happiness and well-being’, says Dr Claire Nicogossian of Podcast: In-Session with Dr. Claire.

When we are stressed out, self-care is often the first thing we let go of. It’s so important to make time for yourself to replenish though, as only when our emotional cup is full and overflowing can we effectively give ourselves to others too.

Self-care starts with caring for our physical needs; getting enough sleep, eating healthy, and exercise, which most people are aware of. However, it is also caring for our emotional and social needs. This means managing and caring for our emotions and staying connected to the important people in our life. Maybe you haven’t popped over for tea at Grandma’s in a while? Or you haven’t had a lady’s night out with your bestie? It’s time to put these at the top of your priorities list.

Self-care is also spending time doing activities you enjoy. “Not every person needs the same amount of time or similar activities to feel replenished and restored, so it is important to find out what you need and schedule time to make self-care activities happen” suggests Dr Nicogossian. Yoga, tree-bathing, art, sport – make time for hobbies that let you recharge.

Finding this pause in your day can allow the busy-ness and tension to fall away, leaving space for clear thought, acknowledgement of your emotional well-being and the sensation of calm.

So how are you going to fill your cup today?