“Gathering the ‘Fourth’ by Sodanie Chea (Flickr/Creative Commons)
We’re all trying to survive the news of a Trump presidency the best we can. I’m sure if you’re anything like me, you’re flailing about, trying remember what self-care looks like in the face of adversity. I say it like that because for too long, self-care gets treated as a luxury instead of the necessity that it actually is. If there’s any time to learn that lesson, it’s right now.
Fusion’s Collier Meyerson asked women of color what their self-care looked like in a Trump world, and the answers varied from listening to music, to asking folks for space, to body treatments. Some of the answers are as follows:
“When I feel hopeless like this—because of my humanity, because of what’s inside of me—I like to watch YouTube clips of black women winning awards. Ha! It’s weird. I like to pull Halle Berry winning her Oscar or Lupita [Nyong’o]. It is such a balm to see us WIN, even though now, it seems like those moments are now much fewer and far between. But for a fleeting moment, yo—I watch women, black women, my women, win and cheer and cry and stand on top of the world—and I feel like there’s room for me.”
– Jazmine Hughes, editor
“Scheduled acupuncture appointments at a low cost ($45) at Pacific College of Medicine [in New York City], playing gospel, drinking water, and giving myself gentle touch. That’s about all I can do right now.”
– Lucille Songhai, community affairs director for the Manhattan Borough President
“I did not watch any media coverage of the election last night; that felt like self-care to me. It just feels like a soap opera. Today, I woke up and I’m doing a 40-day meditation practice called the ‘Oneness of Heart,’ and it’s a meditation to connect with my heart on a deep level. With all the chaos and dismay around the world, to value my heart and all connections available and around in all this division, is important. Also, taking time to breathe and to cuddle.
– Shirley Johnson, psychotherapist and yoga teacher
Take a look at Fusion’s full list of self-care tips here.
I would like to say I have some self-care tips to add to this list, but unfortunately, I’m new to the self-care practice. One thing I have suffered from, like a lot of black women and women in general, is feeling like I have to be strong at all times. So my first step towards self-care is realizing that it’s not a weakness to feel less-than-superwoman. In fact, it’s human. So maybe my tip to anyone reading this that is new to the world taking care of yourself is to just remember to take things one step at a time and to be patient with yourself; unlearning bad habits won’t happen overnight, even if you wish they would. It also helps to watch calming things on YouTube. I usually watch a ton of baking videos to help me de-stress.
What are some self-care tips you utilize all the time? Write them down in the comments section below!
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