Self-care is the practice of actively protecting your well-being and happiness during periods of stress. You prioritize mental health and physical well-being too.
Self-care is different from one individual to another. What works for you might not work for another person, so it’s good to take enough time to identify what brightens you up and makes you feel lighter.
This is how self-care looks like:
- Going on walks alone at whatever time of the day, depending on your preference, either morning or evening.
- Watching a favorite TV show or listening to a podcast of your choice.
- Going for long drives just to see nature on your own.
- Reading a book or/and journaling.
- Doing yoga and some stretches.
- Having a regular sleeping routine.
Self-care can also look like this:
- Stepping back from responsibilities for a bit, if at all it’s draining you. Sticking to obligations even though they are draining you can be toxic positivity. Step back, take a break, and come back established.
- Setting healthy boundaries with the people around you, be it family, friends, colleagues, and even neighbors. Boundaries save you from situations that make you feel disrespected – this can save you from stress.
- You can have a good time being alone, and you don’t need people all the time to be happy. Your own company should also cheer and brighten you up.
- Sometimes staying at home engages you with your environment. You can choose to clean and tidy your space or just chill doing what you like. Staying at home can be tiring to some individuals, but it’s healthy to have “alone” time at home.
- Learning to forgive yourself is also self-care. Self-care most comes in when you want to reduce stress. In situations where you made a mistake or poor decisions, you tend to be hard on yourself and unwilling to forgive yourself. Blaming yourself just increases stress levels making everything worse. Forgive yourself for any poor choices made, and this is taking care of your mental health.
- Asking for help is also self-care. It is hard to ask for help at times, but this eats you up and exhausts you. Know when exactly to ask for help, and be easy on yourself. Asking for help doesn’t make you weak or less brilliant, but it shows your boldness.
Self-care promotes positive health outcomes, fostering resilience and helping you better manage stress and challenging times. It allows you to take a break when you need it the most and recharges you to give your best. It helps to maintain your performance so that it doesn’t fall in between.
