Self Care for Women Overcoming Vaginismus

[Heather34]

Hi all. I’ve seen Dr. Pacik post about the importance of self-care in his “Daily Healthy Sex” posts and believe it is so, so very important while going through the journey of overcoming vaginismus. I found an excellent article concerning Women’s Self Care that I wanted to share with you:

http://www.fgwrc.ca/uploads/ck/files/Resources/Factsheets/FactSheetSelfCare.pdf

Examples of Self-Care Activities:

“Talk openly with a trusted friend
Sit outside and listen to the birds
Practice breathing exercises
Make sure you are eating a well balanced diet
Get enough sleep
Make exercise a regular part of your routing
Take a warm bath/shower (warm water is very soothing and relaxing for tight and tense muscles and for the mind)
Listen to music you enjoy
Try a yoga class
Journaling”

[Cathleen Kneidl, RPA-C]

What great advice. We are all so busy all of the time, we often don’t have a chance to take a few minutes to ourselves, and we forget how renewing that it can be. I enjoy running and tai-chi, but I don’t always have the time. On my busiest days, I have an app on my phone that uses my breathing to relax me and can be done in 1 minute a few times a day.

[Nicole Tammelleo, MA, LCSW]

Self care is one of the most important pieces of overcoming any issue, and especially important for women suffering from vaginismus. Unfortunately the term “self” often translates to “selfish” for many women, and we feel bad taking time away from our loved ones to do something for ourselves. But we need to try and change that mindset, and think of self-care as an necessary part of any day, like brushing your teeth or eating breakfast. Cathleen offers a great, free and easy solution. There are numerous apps for free to help with meditation or even some simple time to breath. One of my favorites is called “Insight Timer” and it has thousands of different options. In addition you can also become part of a community of thousands of others all over taking some time our for self-care, and see that indeed we all need to take care of ourselves.

[Rachel Hercman, LCSW]

Another aspect of self-care is creating distance from people in your life who are sources of negativity. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have anything to do with them, but it’s good to evaluate relationships and ask ourselves, does this make me feel better or worse about myself? And if it’s worse, what can I do about it?

[Helen Leff, LCSW]

Another aspect of self care is being able to ask for help and support from someone close to you.
When a woman comes to Maze for the Botox procedure it is really important to not come alone and we stress bringing a supportive person with you. It is ok to ask for help, and in my experience people feel good when they can be of help to someone else.