A tried and tested list of self care suggestions
In a society where overworking is glorified and a relaxed lifestyle is undervalued, we need to understand the importance of self care. By taking some time out to engage in self-care, you may relieve the pressures of everyday life and reset yourself to get back to a healthy point, where your well being and productivity is once again maximized.
Self care can be anything that you can do for yourself in the present that also benefits your future self. There are forms of self care which can be part of your daily life and some which you can practice anytime you find the need to. Here are some of our suggestions:
CBT & Affirmations:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps people learn how to identify and change destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on behavior and emotions.
Through my time in therapy I learned how to talk to myself with more patience, love and understanding. I slowly turned my negative self-talk into words of love and affirmation. It changed how I saw myself and it gave me a better understanding of my place in this world.
The act of consciously going to therapy to check in with myself was that of self care. I understood myself better each session, and I opened up more fruitful possibilities for myself.
Therapy isn’t always easy, more often than not we find ourselves struggling to remove ourselves from destructive thought patterns. In order to start a positive self-talk routine I made a list of affirmations to actively speak out loud to my mirror every morning. No matter how weird it initially felt, I now realise how powerful of a tool they can be.
Affirmations can sound like:
“I will finish writing an article today.”
“I appreciate my body and all that she has done for me.”
“I am confident socially and I enjoy meeting new people.”
“I am happy reaping the rewards of my hard work.”
“I accept love from the people I love.”
Give back to your body:
Your body is the vessel you use to carry out your daily activities. Taking the time out to connect with it is more than essential.
Any form of daily exercise can boost your activity levels and give you that extra push to see things through.
Even though skincare and grooming routines can be endless, find one that you can do everyday. Taking an active effort to care about your skin, nails and hair is not vain or unimportant. Do what you want in your capacity to look and feel good. Get that haircut, buy that outfit you have thought about so much–dressing yourself the way you want to can be extremely rewarding.
Massages are another way to pamper your body. After all, your body needs to be rewarded for all that it does for you.
Financial security:
Develop a financial plan for yourself, open a savings account. Even if you save a minimum of INR 100 a day, just do it!
As you save, learning about investments could help your money grow, too.
Spend your money wisely, do not splurge it away. Find cheaper, more effective ways of living your life.
Keeping your finances in check, grants you independence and stability. I’d say that’s part of self care!
Jazzing up your home:
Finding comfort and safety in your home keeps you grounded and secure. Keep it organized. Make your bed.
Even just doing up your space with love and care helps you cleanse all that doesn’t serve you and fills it with things that you want for yourself. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, just make sure the space feels like you!
Building space for yourself makes it easier for you to develop and maintain a smooth flowing routine, a good way to boost your everyday life.
Make time for pleasure:
Guilt free pleasure is honestly really hard to come by. More often than not I do not take up the opportunity to do something fun because the responsible adult in me feels that I could be doing other, more important things with my life.
But understanding the value of a good time is really important, it makes all the adult boring things worth it.
Doing anything like taking a long shower after a hard day at work, sitting by the window and listening to music, going on a holiday, reading a book, sexually connecting with my partner, dancing by myself, are all things that give me pleasure and it is what brings my life the most meaning.
Feed your soul:
Finding the time to meditate in such a busy world is really hard, but by giving yourself 5-10 mins every morning to meditate (or if you’re having trouble just close your eyes and try to focus on just your breathing) can go a long way.
If it is possible, get outside. Exposing yourself to the natural world is a beautiful way to connect with your roots.
Even engaging in art has its own way to bring out your playful intuition– dabble in some paints and see what you can uncover about yourself along the way.
Feeding the soul = self care.
Social interactions:
Whether we like hearing this or not, human beings are inherently social beings. Get creative with your interactions but whether you’re introverted or extroverted, make an active effort.
Ideally, filling your social circle with like minded people and staying away from the ones you don’t want to be around anymore, can make your life brighter and fuller. I learned this the hard way, but now that I know better, I can’t emphasize it enough!
Self care is an essential part of surviving this crazy world. Infact, I really think it’s needed now more than ever.
There are so many things out there that can fuel you, some might just be silly and fun, some relaxing and some may lead to a new skill. It doesn’t need to make sense.
But they all have one thing in common–needing to take a step back to prioritize you.