Of masks and massage: It's 'me time'

My face is covered by a Garnier clay and zinc mask while my hair is immersed in a TRESemme silk protein mask as I write this story in bed.

It is, after all, my "Me Time Monday."

For at least one day a week, I set aside time for myself, doing little things I enjoy. Monday for me is perfect for some "Me Time" as it is one of my days off from the busy newsroom.

Women face tremendous stress as they try to have it all – building strong personal relationships, creating successful careers, getting involved in community affairs, and so on.

On the health site WebMD, Dr. Renee Alli says the lack of time for oneself is one of the major causes of women’s unhappiness today.

While strong women have indomitable spirits, our bodies still crave for rest and healing. As Alli says, "Every woman needs an occasional break for sanity's sake."

Project: Living

Alli shared an important piece of advice from Margaret Moore, co-director of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School: Think of your personal life as a "project."

"We're very good at project management in our work lives, but not so well in our personal lives. Treat it like any project," Moore advised.

What Moore said is true for many women who are good at multi-tasking at work – setting specific goals and schedules for different problems – but perhaps not so good when it comes to their personal affairs.

According to the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)d, “Back disorders can develop gradually as a result of microtrauma brought about by repetitive activity over time or can be the product of a single traumatic event.”

If microtrauma internal injuries are ignored, “the symptoms become acute, often resulting in disabling injury,” OSHA said.

Busy women forget to give their bodies time to recharge. They forget that stressful living and too much hard work can cause these microtrauma injuries that can harm one’s health.

The “Women’s Guide to Me Time” of WebMD proposed practical activities women can do depending on the amount of free time they have. Some of suggested activities include:

Moore said the key is to find out what works for you.

For 5- to 10-minute breaks

• Sipping a cup of coffee without reading the newspaper, or answering phone calls, or listing tasks on the calendar’

• Calling a friend, “just talk, without an agenda,” said WebMD;

• Getting up from the desk, just stretching, or walking around;

• Breathing deeply, and

• Petting your pet.

For 15- to 30-minute breaks

• Doing “short escapes” like reading a book or magazine or working on a crossword puzzle;

• Going for a brisk walk, or

• Puttering around the house.

For 30-to 60-minute breaks

• Getting a massage, facial, or a manicure and pedicure;

• Taking a nap, and

• Taking a stroll with a good friend.


Guilt

According to the psychology site PsychCentral.com, one of the biggest barriers to practicing self-care is guilt.

It noted that women usually feel incredibly guilty for tending to their needs.

In a PsychCentral.com article, Ashley Eder, LPC, a psychotherapist, says, “We are surrounded by overt and covert messages that encourage us to minimize our own needs and feel guilty when we engage in self-care.”

Like other women, I too feel guilty at times for spoiling myself on “Me Time Mondays” (and on other days as well…).

In one of our weekly confessions, I told my 90-year-old conservative confessor that I felt guilty of vanity, but he said we had to care for and respect our bodies which God created.


My favorite 'Me Time' activities

(1) "We Time" with my hubby – My favorite "Me Time" activity is actually "We Time" with my husband Riz. On most days, we are both busy with our jobs and have little time for each other.

Although we attend Mass together daily, I like spending "We Time" Sundays and Mondays with my hubby by lingering a little longer in church, praying, and just spending some quiet time with God.

(2) Salon pampering – I like going to different salons every week to try out their menu of services – manicure, pedicure, foot spa, hand spa, hair spa, collagen facial, and so on.

(3) Going to the gym – When we’re not busy, my hubby and I both like spending hours at the gym. We go through our separate exercise routines – treadmill, cycling, dancing, weights and just meeting at the lobby afterwards.

In an earlier article on GMA News Online, Dr. Atenodoro Marciano R. Ruiz, Jr., who was an affiliate of the St. Luke’s Medical Center and who now works as a gastroenterologist at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Santa Clara, California, said, "Losing weight and achieving the physique of your dreams by diet and exercise takes time to work."

"Choose the exercise that you enjoy most. Working out with a friend or your partner may motivate you to go exercise regularly," he suggested. For me, I've found the perfect gym partner in my hubby and best friend Riz.

(4) Shopping – On some "Me Time Mondays," I just take the train from Pasay where we live and go shopping in Makati. Being a prudent spender, I don’t like big unnecessary purchases. I do give myself some allowance to "indulge" in whatever I like. I just set aside a little spending money – P1,000 – every week to buy whatever I want.

This P1,000 is the extra cash I can spend every week for things like books, craft materials, and beads as rosary-making is one of my hobbies. Most of the time though, I end up spending the P1,000 for gifts. I have a box at home where I store gifts for family and friends for birthdays, Christmas, and other special occasions.

(5) Massage – Going to the spa and getting a massage is one of my top favorite things to do. I have tried different kinds of massage – Filipino, Chinese, Thai, Swedish, and others, but I  like the traditional Filipino "hilot" and Chinese reflexology the best.

 As Dr. Moore said, the key is finding what activity works best for you. The important thing is to learn to care for yourself because you are precious to God and to the people around you. — BM, GMA News