Why Is It So Hard To Do Things That Are Good For Us?

Surely self care shouldn’t be so hard?

Claire McGregor
4 min readFeb 5, 2023
Photo by 91 Magazine on Unsplash

Rather than a self-help article, today’s piece takes a form of a question. Why is it so difficult to do things that are good for you? No, I’m not talking about losing weight or exercising, although they are interesting examples. Instead, I’m talking about basic self care; relatively simple things that can improve our health that we still struggle to do. The examples I’m using here are brushing my teeth thoroughly, including flossing, and using a CPAP machine for my sleep apnoea.

I think you’ll agree that those things are beneficial. Okay, I’m not the first person to have difficulties adjusting to a CPAP machine. However, brushing and flossing my teeth should take no more than 15 minutes, even when done exceptionally thoroughly. So why, for the love of all that’s holy, do I find it so difficult? Self care is not supposed to be so hard.

Possibility 1: Tiredness

Tiredness is a definite possibility as I suffer from sleep apnoea, chronic fatigue syndrome, and depression. As I’ve explained in other articles about depression, when it’s particularly bad, I feel that even the smallest task requires a disproportionately massive amount of effort. Even everyday things like climbing the stairs, making my bed or…

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Claire McGregor

I’m a writer taking my time to learn what good writing’s about and get my blog off the ground. I want to connect and learn. My Blog https://www.cmoomuses.com