This Is Why Debra Messing Wants You To Start Making Wellness A Priority

Actress Debra Messing is one busy lady. She's reprising what might be her most famous role to date, playing Grace on NBC's Will & Grace, raising her son, speaking out and taking a stand for what she believes in, and, of course, doing all the things other people do in their daily lives. And though she's certainly busy throughout the year, the holiday season poses its own set of challenges, as they do for everyone, both in terms of time in each day, as well as in terms of everyday stressors. So, Debra Messing wants you to make wellness a priority, not only during the holidays, but all year long.

"I think it’s incredibly important to prioritize your wellness," Messing tells Romper. "I think it’s our instinct as a mother to put everyone else first and take care of everyone else’s needs first and what I’ve found is that now that I’ve finally started to prioritize my own wellness, I actually am a better mother, and a better friend, and a better employee. So I think it’s important to, number one, prioritize it without guilt and find things that help you step away, mentally, from all the demands of the day."

Taking care of yourself can feel like just another thing on your to do list sometimes, but Messing's right — it's also essential in order for you to be at your best, not only for yourself, but also for all of the other people in your life who are most important to you.

For Messing, making her own wellness a priority starts with her morning routine.

"Generally, I wake up in the morning and I drink my green juice first-thing and I take a bath," she explains. "I like to take a bath in the morning — it’s just a kind of great meditative way to sort of start the day, to think about the day to come. And I generally don’t really wear makeup unless I am working or unless I have a special occasion. So, for me, my routine is really, really simple. I take a bath and wash my face and brush my teeth with Optic White and usually throw my hair up in a ponytail and I’m off to work with my green tea in tow."

Optic White is a main-stay in her routine, just as her morning bath and green tea are. "Every time I would try something else, I would always come back to Colgate Optic White and it’s just, it’s simple and it works," Messing says.

Starting your day with some ease can make a big difference and carry over to how you feel throughout the rest of the day. That being said, easing into your day isn't always possible for everyone. Not only that, but it might not have the same effect on you as it has on others. Not all strategies work in the same way for everyone. So finding what works best for you when it comes to fighting stress, caring for yourself, and feeling good about things is essential.

"Whether or not a bath with essential oils does it for you, or doing a home facial or watching an old movie, listening to music, meditating, going for a long walk outside, I think it’s a very personal thing about what helps de-stress, but I think that it’s incredibly important," Messing says.

During the holiday season, injecting ease into your day is arguably even more important as you contend with a ton of social events, responsibilities, and the like, while also balancing your typical day-to-day life. Messing opts for online shopping in the evening to allow for time to shop without having to carve time out of her packed schedule to shop at a store.

She's also raising a son, Roman Walker Zelman, who's now a teenager. Things tend to change as kids grow into teenagers, but to Messing, that's exciting, not nerve-wracking or sad.

"You know, every new developmental stage that he enters is exciting because it’s new and so he has now entered adolescence and I’m just, I’m excited about the human he has become so far and I’m just excited to see him discover himself in the world even more," she says.

Messing regularly speaks out about what she believes in and she's raising her son to consider these issues and fight for these sorts of things as well.

"I think it’s important to be authentic with the people closest to you, obviously, and so when I talk about equality and civil rights and being socially conscious and responsible, these are all conversations that I have had and continue to have with my son," Messing says.

Though there's a lot that changes — including your schedule — as your kids grow older, taking care of yourself is still extremely important. Part of being a good mom is taking care of yourself and making time for your own wellness, after all, and figuring out what works best for you is definitely key. It can be easy to let wellness and self-care fall from your schedule when things get particularly busy, but making yourself a guilt-free priority is something that helps you be a better you — and Debra Messing wants you to know that.

This first-time mom wants to have a home birth, but is she ready? Watch how a doula supports a military mom who's determined to have a home birth in Episode One of Romper's Doula Diaries, Season Two, below. Visit Bustle Digital Group's YouTube page for the next three episodes, launching Mondays in December.