Taking Time to Recharge is an Act of Self-Love

Right now we’re in the middle of the holiday season, which unfortunately is often a tough time for a lot of folks. While there might be plenty of commercials and the like convincing you this is the time to be merry, that may not exactly line up with your day-to-day experience.

We’ve talked about making the holidays work for you, but even when it’s not the holiday season it’s so important to make sure that you create space for yourself to live in a way that works well for you.

For me, that often means taking breaks.

I’m a classic introvert, and while personality assessments have come under fire more and more over the years, my results have proven time and time again to be pretty accurate. Introversion is about how you manage and expend energy. It’s not about being shy or antisocial, it’s really about what social events and obligations take out of you.

The difference between introversion and extroversion

Rachel and I have talked about this difference on the podcast before and while we’re not exactly opposite in this regard, I’ve definitely much farther along on the introversion side than she is. For me, this means that I need the classic introvert recovery time after social obligations. You can imagine how that plays out during this time of year! Extroverts, by contrast, tend to get very anxious, antsy or uncomfortable when they don’t have regular contact with other people. Other folks tend to be more of a source of energy and vitality instead of being sources that (unintentionally) zap away the energy reserves of introverts.

I like people (after all I probably wouldn’t be a mental health professional if I didn’t) but spending time with people, especially in groups takes a lot out of me. To be honest, I’m writing this after waking up from a cat nap, an introvert’s life blood. It certainly helps me recharge and be more sociable when I feel like I’ve spent energy investing in other people in conversation (and managing the vibes/energy in a social space).

Even with being introverted, each person responds to social duties in their own unique way. But whether you’re more introverted or not, it’s important to take breaks and not get hung up on judging yourself for it.

Leave the self-judgement behind

With relationships come expectations – whether they are fair or not. That means that there are likely going to be times when you feel guilty for doing what feels right for you, even if it’s done without malice towards anyone else. But, my goal in writing today is to remind you that needing time for yourself isn’t some sort of character flaw. It doesn’t make you antisocial or weird. It’s healthy to take the time you need to feel balanced and grounded again.

So the next time you find you’re fighting with yourself about the time and space that you need to recharge, try to remind yourself that meeting your needs is a deep act of self-love and there’s nothing at all wrong with that.