Fourteenth Entry (November 6th, 2021)

     On November 6th, I had a pretty good day and was not really experiencing much stress, but surprisingly I had not done the deep breathing exercise this day because I had genuinely forgot. I have realized that I often forget to engage in self-care practices on many days, and this reminds me of my overall struggle with self-care. In the past before I started counseling, I had no idea what self-care meant to me or how to engage in it, so I often would overload my schedule and burn myself out because I did not believe that self-care was productive, but after counseling, I began to work on this belief. This project of deep breathing has also helped me realize that self-care is more than just being alone and doing something by yourself, it can also be hanging out with other people or going to counseling, so although I did not engage in the deep breathing this day, I had engaged in self-care because I spent time with my loved ones, which really elevated my mood and helped me manage my stress.