*This is a collaborative post*
What is self care?
You’ve probably heard of self care, but what is it exactly? In short, self care is anything you do to nurture your body, soul or mind. The term often makes people think of day spas and extensive skincare routines, but while this certainly qualifies as self care, there’s a lot more to the concept. Rather than being an indulgence to make yourself feel good, self care is a vital part of helping your mental and physical wellbeing.
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s more important than ever to take care of yourself and do things that fill up your metaphorical cup. The good news is there are plenty of ways to bring self care into your daily routine. Things like carrying a reusable water bottle with you throughout the day to stay hydrated, and taking five minutes at the end of the day to think about what you’re grateful for go a long way.
So get comfy and we’ll unpack what a good self care routine looks like, and how you can add it to your life.
Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash
1. Nurturing the Mind
Your mental wellbeing is one of the most important factors in maintaining your overall health. While it isn’t always possible to control how you feel, there are steps you can take each day to declutter your mind and boost your mental state.
Setting boundaries, for example, will help you avoid saying ‘yes’ to things that cause you stress, while mindfulness tactics like taking a moment to breathe when you leave a stressful situation can help you ground and centre yourself.
You can also add a quick meditation in the morning, even if it’s only for five minutes, and try journaling at night to help get any racing thoughts out of your head. These short practices are easy to implement but will go far, so give them a try.
2. Treating Your Body
Although caring for your mind is important, you also need to take care of your body. There’s different ways to do this, like working out, getting enough sleep, eating well and listening to your body. While you’ll ideally tick these boxes, there are days you may not have the time or energy, so don’t feel bad if you’re not hitting your goals every day. Being kind to yourself is self care too!
A good way to help level up your physical self care is to establish a bedtime routine. This can be as simple as making a warm beverage in your favourite reusable cup to help you unwind, curling up in bed with a good book, or having a large drink of water an hour or so before bed.
In terms of eating well, setting a day each week to try a new healthy recipe is a great strategy for ensuring you’re getting plenty of delicious variety that’s good for you. By the same token, trying new types of exercise such as dancing or boxing can help you find a new favourite hobby while also getting your steps up.
3. Heartfelt Connections
Humans are social creatures and we naturally crave interaction with others, which is where emotional self care comes into the mix. Making sure you have a good relationship with those around you, as well as yourself, promotes emotional wellbeing, and is an important part of the self care journey. Things like engaging in your favourite hobbies, or a coffee date with your bestie can significantly boost your emotional wellbeing, so make time for whatever makes you happy.
4. Cultivating Passions
Creative pursuits and activities that light you up inside are also important forms of self care. These kinds of actions take you out of yourself, and create something unique in the world that wasn’t there before.
Writing, whether it’s a diary, short work of fiction, a memoir, or a novel is a fantastic way to explore your creative side. Not much of a wordsmith? Try your hand at painting for a rewarding way to get your feelings out in an imaginative way. Even gardening can be incredibly satisfying, allowing you to be creative while getting closer to nature.
Whatever you choose, chasing your creative passions brings joy and fulfilment, and is a fantastic way into self care. And if you’re unsure what those passions are right now, don’t be afraid to learn a new skill.
5. The Power of Saying No
The final self care tip we want to leave with you is that it’s ok to say no. Setting boundaries is incredibly important in protecting your wellbeing, and saying no to things that don’t add value to your life or make you happy is perfectly alright. A good way to think about it is that by saying no to the thing you don’t want to do, you’re opening up a yes for something else. By flipping the script like this you’ll feel more able to set healthy boundaries.
Self care comes in many forms and is vital for your physical, mental, and emotional health. Next time you feel yourself starting to get stressed or overwhelmed, try implementing one of the strategies outlined here and see how your mindset shifts.
