10 Simple Ways to Practice Self-Care
September is National Self-Care Awareness Month! It's important to show compassion for others, but how often do we treat ourselves with the same level of kindness? One of the best things we can do for our minds and bodies is to take a break and remember we are worth love.
Here are 10 Simple Ways to Practice Self-Care:
- Make sleep part of your self-care routine. Sleep can have a huge effect on how you feel both emotionally and physically. Start thinking about your nightly routine, make sure you stay away from caffeine and sugar before bed because they tend to keep you awake.
- Exercise daily. Daily exercise can help you both physically and mentally by boosting your mood and reducing stress and anxiety. Now, I know going to the gym every day is not possible for most people but try to incorporate some type of exercise into your daily routine. You can do something as simple as walking, tennis, or yoga.
- Say no to others and say yes to your self-care. Learning to say no I shard, many of us feel obligated to say yea when people ask us to do stuff. However, if you are already stressed or overworked, saying yes to loved ones or coworkers can lead to burnout, anxiety, and irritability.
- Eat healthily and mindfully. Too often we eat meals while multitasking, thus denying ourselves the pure experience of nourishing meals. Allow yourself to indulge in a meal without any distractions.
- Unplug from social media. Instagram and Facebook have some benefits but most often people only report on their success, so it can be hard when you're comparing your entire life to everyone's highlights. Take the time to break away from social media and allow yourself to focus on what is going on around you.
- Try out meditation. Meditation returns you tot he present moment, allowing you to find stillness and appreciation in any circumstance. A regular practice can decrease stress and fortify you with a practical tool for everyday life.
- Celebrate the small changes in life. Everyone knows the big milestones in life - graduation, promotions, and birthdays. But everyone forgets about the small moments. Celebrate that time you handed in an assignment early or you reached out to a friend at exactly the right time.
- Drink more water. Drinking a glass of water right when you wake up in the morning is important because often, we wake up from a night's sleep slightly dehydrated. This can cause us to start our day off crappy but if you just add water, it could start to turn better.
- Take five minutes to decompress every day. It's important to take some time and breathe. Often people don't give themselves five minutes to slow down and decompress but they need to. So, for five minutes a day get off your phone and allow yourself just to sit in your thoughts.
- Confront your negativity. Write down the lies - the negative self-talk, self-doubt - and then combat that with what you know to be true. Writing it down on paper helps to acknowledge the negative while not letting it over the positives in your life.
