I recently asked this question on Facebook. One betty said she didn’t feel like she let it happen more so than let everything else get in the way. Another betty said she did let herself go after her son but luckily got herself out of that funk.
As a mama of 3 boys, I totally understand the challenges with keeping up with your personal care, fitness and style. But “letting yourself go” isn’t really about not being able to keep it all up, but rather it means just flat out giving up.
I was once there. For about 2 years after my son I had pretty much given up on my skincare, makeup and fashion. I wore the same tired jean skirts everyday. My hair was never styled. I hardly ever wore makeup except for a bit of lip gloss on Sundays.
But it really doesn’t matter what I wore or how I combed my hair. It was really about attitude. My attitude was that of “why bother?”.
I was feeling pretty depressed at the time (could have been preggo hormones) and I was just self loathing. At the time I told myself that there was not enough time or money (you know how kids seem to suck it all up), but it was just my way of avoiding the fact that I just was not going to try anymore.
C'mon get happy!
Luckily my passion for skincare was rekindled and that started a domino effect. Starting a handcrafted beauty business, going back to school, earning my esthetics license, landing a great job as a lead esthetician all gave me a great sense of pride and accomplishment and as result I started taking care of myself again. Remember it’s about attitude.
Of course there are a whole new set of challenges now that I’m a mama of 3, but this whole “letting myself go” attitude is no longer one of them.
So how do you know if you’ve “let yourself go” or just let life get in the way? Here are some things I noticed when I was in my funk:
- Do you wear your comfy clothes most of the time? (Versus wearing it because it’s laundry day or house cleaning day)
- When you do your makeup or style your hair do you feel uninspired or think of it like a chore? (Versus finding it difficult to do for lack of time or knowledge of how to do it.)
- Do you tell yourself someday you’ll be fit when in reality your doing almost nothing to achieve that goal? (Versus thoughtfully considering your food choices and doing some exercise yet not achieving your goal.)
- Does your skincare routine, if you have one, feel like a burden and boring? (Versus being frustrated over not finding the right products or routine for your skin)
Do you ever feel like you’ve given up on taking care of yourself?
Have you been in this sort of “funk” and got yourself out?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I feel this way most of the time lately. My excuses… no money, no time, don’t really know how to get it done, need to lose weight, no time to exercise, no energy to do any of the above! I need my “funk” back! So how do I start?
I feel this way most of the time lately. My excuses… no money, no time, don’t really know how to get it done, need to lose weight, no time to exercise, no energy to do any of the above! I need my “funk” back! So how do I start?
I have done just that (although I did just wash the gray out of my hair). Sometimes I feel like it doesn’t really matter. I am dependent on my significant other for every one of my needs. Hair salon visits are not an option, actually it’s more like the kids(6), food, gas, bills, come first plus I’d choose a new book or journal over the haircut. Don’t feel deserving I guess, I feel like the choices I’ve made to end up a single parent to 3, uneducated, unemployed, 43 yr old woman, leave me unable to pamper and provide for myself in the way that I’d like…
Oh wow! Suzanne thank you for sharing! Honey you are not alone…moms often feel guilty over taking care of themselves, as if it’s frivolous. But clearly if it makes us feel better (plus our husbands sure do appreciate it), why the hell not spend $60 on a haircut?