Some Days I Need My Own Advice Too

There’s something strangely vulnerable about being the person who reminds others to rest… while secretly forgetting how to rest yourself.

I’ve spent so much time building spaces around self-care, mental health, healing, boundaries, and softness. I write reminders people save to their phones. I create comforting words I hope make someone feel less alone. But the truth is, some days I’m still learning how to believe those words for myself too.

“Some days I give advice I still struggle to follow myself. Maybe healing works like that. Maybe we grow by reminding each other.”

That realization hit me harder than I expected.

Because maybe healing was never about becoming someone who has all the answers. Maybe it’s about becoming honest enough to admit you’re still figuring it out too.

I think people imagine self-care influencers wake up perfectly grounded every morning. Like we always drink enough water, set perfect boundaries, take breaks before burnout, and love ourselves effortlessly. But healing isn’t linear just because you talk about it online. Sometimes the people who speak the most about mental health are speaking from the middle of the storm, not the end of it.

And honestly? Maybe creating and deep thinking are my form of self-care.

Not the aesthetic kind people post online. Not always the bubble baths, skincare routines, or perfectly unplugged mornings. Sometimes self-care looks like sitting quietly with my thoughts until they finally make sense. Sometimes it looks like writing feelings down before they consume me. Sometimes it’s turning overwhelming emotions into art, blog posts, collages, watercolor animals, journal entries, or words another person might need someday too.

I think I used to feel guilty for not “resting correctly.”

Like if I wasn’t shutting my brain off completely, I wasn’t actually healing. But maybe my mind was never built for silence in that way. Maybe creating is how I process life. Maybe deep thinking isn’t always overthinking. Maybe sometimes it’s reflection. Awareness. Meaning-making.

Some people recharge by escaping their thoughts.

I recharge by understanding mine.

Creativity has always been the safest place for my emotions to land. It gives my feelings somewhere to go besides my chest. It turns anxiety into expression instead of pressure. And honestly, some of the moments I feel most connected to myself are the quiet nights spent creating something meaningful while the world sleeps.

That doesn’t mean I still don’t struggle.

There are days I overwork myself because resting feels unproductive. Days I pour comfort into everyone else while forgetting I deserve some too. Days I know exactly what advice I should follow… and still struggle to follow it myself.

But maybe growth isn’t about mastering healing perfectly.

Maybe it’s choosing to keep showing up anyway.

Choosing to try again.

Choosing to rest when your body asks for it.

Choosing to create when your soul needs it.

Choosing to love yourself in small, imperfect pieces instead of waiting until you feel fully “fixed.”

I’m realizing self-care isn’t a destination you arrive at. It’s a relationship you keep rebuilding with yourself over and over again.

And maybe we really do heal by reminding each other.

Not because we’re experts.

Not because we have it all together.

But because sometimes another tired soul needs to hear the same reminder we desperately needed ourselves too.