A Nourishing Guide to Self Care

Is taking care of yourself a chore that stays on the bottom of your to-do list day after day? Do you feel like everyone else's needs are more important than yours? I used to be that way too. Until I got cancer. Five times. Each time I got ill, I'd vow to take better care of myself. And I did, slowly but surely I learned more and more things about wellness, exercise, nutrition, spiritual, emotional and psychological health. The biggest thing I've learned is that it's easier to take care of me a little bit at a time. I don't need huge chunks of time or cash to take care of me. Sure, I might want those things and a tropical vacation would definitely be amazing. But until I'm on a plane to an island, I can't keep on neglecting myself and neither can you. So I set out to share how I take care of myself, bit by bit, and day by day. I wrote a nourishing guide to self care called Five Thoughtful Ways to Love Yourself. 

a nourishing guide to self care by cancer survivor jessica nichols

 

Simply reading my guide is an act of self care.

"It's so beautiful it feels like a bit of a guilty pleasure."

— Marcia N.

Inside you'll find the following ideas:

  • Sayings: my favorite mantras to ground me when I feel anxious, worried, lacking or scarce
  • Juicing: my go-to green juice recipe to boost me when I need energy and nourishment
  • Stretching: my favorite stretches to loosen me up when I feel stiff or achey
  • Listening: my favorite podcasts to open my mind when I need a new perspective or new ideas on how to care for myself
  • Reading: my favorite books to learn from when I want to expand my knowledge of my body, nutrition or when I want to access my intuition and inner guidance

My hope is that as you incorporate these ideas into your thoughts and behavior, soon self care will become a sacred, rejuvenating ritual that you feel incomplete without.

As a wise friend told me years ago, an empty cup quenches no one's thirst.

Click here to sign up for my email list and start taking care of yourself today, bit by bit. ♥

 

Determination

Determination: firmness of purpose sunset portland oregon summer

Since I last posted, I have been to the depths of despair and back again. This fifth journey through lymphoma was painful, literally and figuratively. I have never seen cancer the way I did this time. I was stuck in bed, watching it grow. My husband, family and friends got me through each difficult day. We tried so many things to heal me. We finally found a treatment that was stronger than the lymphoma. It was hard to tolerate, but worth it. Since finishing treatment, I have been embracing life! Walking, swimming in lakes and rivers, painting, etc. I have been eating whatever I want too! I am rebounding. It's been two months since treatment ended. I'm still finding my way, figuring things out, unsure of my future, grateful for every minute I can bend at will, jump, walk -- everything I could not do for months.

As for my work? Who knows. I am my work and my work is me. HOW I share it and live from it is another story to be written. I wanted to capture some of my thoughts here, tonight. I cannot compare myself to anyone else, any more. It serves zero purpose, even though I do try sometimes. I am determined to live fully, with love and in color. That's all I know for sure.

A Healing Journey

I am on a healing journey. I have been tuning inwards more and more as I work to heal myself. I soak up wisdom about intuition. I have learned I can now clearly hear my intuition (unlike before) and now it's time to act on it. Days before Christmas, I could see the lymphoma activating again, where it had been quiet since October's biopsy. Discouragement was quickly replaced by disappointment and then, a decision to trust my intuition which was guiding me towards alternative and holistic cancer treatments.

winter sun

I'm no longer angry at lymphoma or at war or in a battle with my body. I am working with my body. I now view lymphoma as a symptom of an imbalanced system. I truly believe that I have the power to heal myself and that my mind, my body and my spirit know exactly what to do. It is my job to give my body the support it needs to do its job.

So I have now assembled a holistic team to work on helping my body do what it needs to deal with the lymphoma, On Team Jess: Dr. Dave, a naturopathic oncologist, Dr. Rebecca, my regular naturopath for the past 9 months, Elie, a gifted acupuncturist I have been seeing since September, Mary, a specialist in psychoneuroimmunology, Dr. Serena, who specializes in NET. I also have a traditional oncologist, Dr. M, on the team who passed my bedside manner test and is in charge of my PET scans. I started an aggressive protocol with Dr. Dave yesterday, the next 9 weeks will fill my days with supplements, mind/body work, and daily exercise. I am patiently waiting to bring on a functional nutritionist to work on my long-term nutritional healing plan to correct what is probably a lifelong imbalance in my system.

fern

I chose a word for the year very carefully after last year's unintended manifestations. JOY. In all of my reading about the emotional and psychological causes of cancer, distress and lack of joy were common themes. I have had to revisit my childhood and young adulthood these past months, and do some healing work around the traumas I experienced. It's hard work but it's worth it. I am making great progress in opening my heart to myself and allowing my sadnesses to flow through me instead of holding them back in a tight well as I have for many years. I now invite joy into my day every day. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I set an intention and entered a giveaway for Flora Bowley's Brave Intuitive Painting e-course. I won one of the five spots! Painting brings me such deep joy and to start my year in Flora's magical and capable hands while I am doing my protocol is a certain kind of alchemy.

painting

I am finding that some people have quite a bit of fear around the idea of not choosing conventional treatments for cancer. I certainly had my fears and I am doing the hard work to release them. I have only pursued conventional treatments up until now. It has been nine years since I needed treatment and I am a different person now. I want to try something different. Plus, I know that my intuition leads me to making good decisions and ignoring my intuition has led to making bad decisions in the past. So I take one step at a time. I listen to my heart and my inner voice. I lean on my team. I take daily actions to live as long and as healthy as I can. Misao Okawa is my new hero, her advice is to eat well and get a lot of sleep. Okay then Misao! I'm on it.

Misao Okawa

Photo credit: Reuters/Kyodo

I am making radical lifestyle changes. First it was my diet in October and now it will be daily exercise and joy. I am releasing work for right now. I am my work. I am my full-time job.

I am on a healing journey. Yes, yes I am.