I struggle with self care more than I should. I am constantly putting my needs last and everyone else first. This is typical of parents and anyone else that has anxiety or thinks too much. With my normal fears, panic and dealing with my feelings on my mom and family drama, my stress started manifesting in physical ways in the form of tension headaches. They are rough. I feel like the pressure in my head is going to burst it open. I made an appointment with a D.O. which I really like and connected well with. I felt like a doctor finally listened to me. She didn’t judge. She didn’t make me feel like this is all in my head and after literally crying in the exam room, I left feeling a little lighter. I am trying not to stress. To let things go that I can’t change or deal with right now and trying to feel like that’s ok. I struggle. My job, which I love, is stressful. I deal with injured people, attorneys who expect my company to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars and people who’s lives are affected by bad decisions. Before I was promoted to this position, my job responsibilities were pretty easy. If I had stress, it was mainly in my personal life which I could push aside at least while I worked. I realized this slowly. I am never one really to complain. I decided I needed to set some boundaries. With all my family drama, I asked my sister to limit the amount of negativity that she spoke to me about. She completely understood which has been really helpful. I try to focus on happiness. When I speak to my mom, I focus on the positives. How her treatment is going, How is she feeling or small things like her pup hiding her remote or my cats destroying my blinds. Everything adds up. I’m hoping these small steps will be helpful in the long run.