When you fly and the flight attendant gives the emergency information, you are told to put your own oxygen mask on before helping others. Did you ever think why? It is because if we don’t take care of ourselves first, we cannot help others.

In our busy lives, it can be easy to forget this important rule. Parents often take their children to the doctor for yearly exams and shots, but frequently neglect their own health. Early detection can help avoid small fixable medical problems from becoming life threatening.

Statistics show that 30% of caregivers die before those they are caring for (these statistics may even be conservative). A friend of mine’s mother was suffering from ovarian cancer, her husband was her caretaker. He did not take care of himself. His entire focus was on his wife and keeping her alive as long as he could. He neglected his self-care, and didn’t go to the doctor. He died before she did.

As we enter February, the month of love, are you loving yourself first so that you can love others too? When you take a moment to look at your life today, are there changes you might want to make in your self-care thoughts and actions? Not just physically, but also emotionally.

In a recent column, Ask Amy replied to a ‘stressed out’ reader, commenting in part that “Self-care has become a buzzy phrase. It can be challenging to understand what it really means to take care of yourself.”

Making positive changes begins with your attitude toward self-care. You do not need to make these changes alone. You can seek help from someone you trust. A qualified, professional hypnotherapist can provide the tools and support you need. Please call me if you would like to talk or perhaps offer a gift to someone you know in need.