Make Room for Yourself
Inspired Life Wellness Clinic | October 26, 2026
We're entering the last week of October, and I don't know about you, but November 1st has always felt like the unofficial beginning of the holiday season to me. Thanksgiving preparations begin, Christmas isn't far behind, and before long the two holidays seem to blend into one long stretch of planning, shopping, cooking, decorating, gatherings, traditions, and expectations.
There is a great deal to love about this time of year. There is also a tremendous amount of work that goes into making it what we want it to be.
Somewhere between figuring out who's hosting Thanksgiving, making Christmas lists, planning meals, coordinating family schedules, and trying to keep up with everything else life requires, it's remarkably easy to forget about ourselves.
So, before we get swept up in another holiday season, I want to talk about something that deserves a place on our calendars right alongside everything else we're planning: self-care.
Self-Care Is More Than a Bubble Bath
When we hear the term self-care, we often think of things like spa days, massages, bubble baths, or taking an afternoon off. Those things can certainly be enjoyable, but self-care is much broader than that.
Self-care is anything we do intentionally to support our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. It includes getting enough sleep, eating regularly, moving our bodies, maintaining meaningful relationships, setting boundaries, and making time for activities that bring us enjoyment or a sense of fulfillment.
Sometimes self-care is doing something. Sometimes it's deciding not to do something.
It might mean declining an invitation when your calendar is already full, asking someone else to take responsibility for a holiday task, or accepting that homemade Christmas cookies are not a requirement for a meaningful Christmas.
And sometimes it's spending a couple of hours doing something that has absolutely nothing to do with your responsibilities to anyone else.
That last one can be surprisingly difficult for people who are accustomed to taking care of everyone around them.
What Happens When We Don't Make Time for Ourselves?
Our minds and bodies aren't designed to operate indefinitely without opportunities for rest and recovery. When we're constantly attending to responsibilities, solving problems, managing schedules, and meeting other people's needs, stress begins to accumulate.
We may find ourselves becoming more irritable, less patient, easily overwhelmed, or emotionally exhausted. Concentration can suffer, sleep may become disrupted, and activities we ordinarily enjoy can start feeling like one more thing we have to accomplish.
Stress can also affect us physically, contributing to muscle tension, headaches, digestive problems, and fatigue.
Often, we don't recognize how depleted we've become until something relatively minor pushes us over the edge. Suddenly, a misplaced set of keys or a change in holiday plans feels much bigger than it really is.
The problem isn't necessarily the keys or the plans. It may be that we've been running on an empty tank for far too long.
Self-care doesn't eliminate stress, and it certainly doesn't make life's responsibilities disappear. What it can do is help us manage stress more effectively, maintain our emotional resilience, and recognize when we need to make adjustments before exhaustion takes over.
Self-Care Looks Different for Everyone
One of the things I appreciate about self-care is that there isn't one correct way to practice it.
For me, quilting is a wonderful way to step away from the demands of the day. I enjoy the creativity, the problem-solving, the colors, and the process of taking individual pieces of fabric and turning them into something entirely new. It gives my mind something different to focus on, and there is a satisfaction in making something with my hands that is difficult to describe.
I also enjoy writing, enough that I have a quilting and sewing blog, Chris Cross Quilts & More, where I can explore another side of my creativity.
For Kristen, gardening and cooking are activities she enjoys. There is something rewarding about nurturing a garden, preparing a meal, or simply spending time doing something because you want to rather than because someone expects it of you.
Of course, something one person finds relaxing may feel like work to someone else. Cooking might be a creative outlet for one person and the last thing another person wants to do after a busy day.
That's why effective self-care begins with understanding yourself. What helps you recharge? What activities allow you to relax, feel connected, or experience a sense of satisfaction? What do you miss doing when life becomes especially busy?
Your answers may look entirely different from ours, and that's the point.
The Holidays Don't Have to Come at the Expense of Your Well-Being
The holidays can be especially challenging because so much of the work involves more than physical tasks. There's also the mental load of remembering, anticipating, organizing, and making decisions.
Who needs a gift? What are we bringing to Thanksgiving? Have we invited everyone? When is the school program? Did we remember to order the Christmas cards? How are we going to fit everything into the next six weeks?
For many people, that constant mental activity continues long after the day's physical work is finished.
Add financial pressures, complicated family relationships, grief, changing traditions, or the expectation that the holidays should somehow be magical for everyone, and a season intended to bring joy can become a significant source of stress.
We cannot always change our circumstances, but we can reconsider the expectations we place on ourselves.
Not every tradition has to continue simply because we've always done it. Not every invitation requires a yes. Not every meal has to be prepared from scratch, and not every moment needs to become a special memory.
Sometimes the most meaningful thing we can do for ourselves and our families is to make the season a little less demanding.
This Week, Make a Plan for Yourself
Before November arrives, take a little time this week to think about what you need to feel well during the coming months.
Consider how much you're willing to take on, which traditions matter most to you, and where you may need to ask for help. Think about activities that help you manage stress and how you can continue making room for them when your schedule becomes busier.
Perhaps that means setting aside a couple of evenings each week for a hobby, maintaining your regular exercise routine, protecting your bedtime, taking an afternoon to yourself, or simply leaving some space on the calendar without feeling obligated to fill it.
Self-care doesn't have to require a great deal of time. Sometimes small, consistent efforts are more helpful than waiting until we're completely exhausted and hoping a single day of rest will make everything better.
And remember that taking care of yourself isn't something you have to earn by finishing everything on your to-do list. If you wait until everything is done, you may discover there's never any time left.
The holidays are coming whether we're ready or not. We might as well enter the season with a little more intention about how we're going to care for ourselves along the way.
So, as we prepare for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and everything in between, I'd love to hear from you: What do you do for self-care?
Christine Aman, MBA, MSN, APRN, NP-C
Inspired Life Wellness Clinic
