Making Self-Care Simple
Do you know the percentage of people that actually make their self-care a priority?
According to the CDC, “Only 6% of adults engage in health-related self-care each day”... Only 6%?! Isn’t that kind of wild to think about? We are with our own self 100% of the time yet only a few of us actively engage in activities that purposefully focus on our well-being. Self-care prioritizes our own needs and believe it or not that is sorta really important. Most of us will say that we naturally put others before ourselves, but what happens when you can’t be your best self for the people around you? Is that really fair to either of you? Not really.
In this blog I will share a few different categories of self-care and activities you can easily take part in:)
Physical Self-Care
Physical self-care refers to the body's physical needs; Caring for your body's needs such as nutrition, rest, hygiene, and exercise. Taking part in physical self-care can assist in: improving energy levels, enhancing mental health, better quality sleep, boosting self-esteem and body image and so much more:)
Here are a few different physical self-care activities
Doing a workout
Cooking a healthy meal
Getting a massage
Dance
Go for a bike ride
Go swimming
Soak up some rays outside (wearing sunscreen of course, or that defeats the purpose)
Emotional Self-Care
Emotional self-care is all about what is going on up in that noggin of yours. What are your emotions? Are you stressed about a million different things? It is so important to tend to your thoughts, because there are a lot of them, trust me I’d know. It’s not always possible to rid your mind of all your thoughts, but by taking part in different emotional self-care activities, you will be able to better regulate how you are feeling emotionally and in return sometimes even physically. (Ever get so stressed that you feel ill?) Ya, we can work on limiting that.
Here are a few different emotional self-care activities
Journaling
Mindful breathing
Setting boundaries
Self affirmations
Meditation
Nature walk
Getting creative in a little DIY project
Spending time with those who make you smile
Mental Self-Care
Similar to emotional self-care, where you mainly focus on your feelings, mental self-care also assists in stress management but also concentrates on cognitive function and growth. I’m sure someone in your life has said something along the lines of “Never stop going to school/learning” or “Knowledge is power”. They were right. Continuing to expand your knowledge and challenge your brain will only benefit you.
Here are a few different mental self-care activities
Puzzle games: crosswords, sudoku, brain teasers
Coloring (not just for kids, break out those colored pencils)
Learn a new language
Photography
Social Self-Care
Self-care doesn’t have to always mean spending time completely alone, although I think we all could agree that a little social battery recharge is necessary.
Here are a few different social self-care activities
Meet up with a friend for coffee
Book club
Volunteer
Go to a support group
Potluck dinner
Game night
Go to a local event
A little recap action! We've covered four different forms of self-care and now have plenty of activities to care for both our minds and bodies. I want to challenge you to pick at least one form of self-care to partake in each day. Doesn’t have to be anything crazy, just one thing that makes you feel good:)
