Self-care requires checking in with yourself and asking yourself how are you doing?
Self-care does not mean the same thing for everyone; each of us will likely differ from someone else.
Self-care for you one day might not feel like self-care another day.
Ideas for self-care:
Go outside: connect with nature which has been proven to improve health and wellbeing. Improves our mental health by reducing stress and anxiety. All these positive outcomes can help in creating a gentle environment for you to feel through your emotions.
Live in the present moment: We automatically scan our worlds for past mistakes we dare not repeat and future threats we try desperately to avoid and prepare to deal with. In so doing, we lose touch with the present-moment the here and now and limit our abilities to experience positive states such as joy, connection, and love. Teaching ourselves to focus on the present moment can train our brain pathways towards more positive experiences.
Have a good cry: It’s safe to say that 2020 gave us all more than enough to cry about. Crying is a natural response to a range of emotions, from deep sadness and grief to extreme happiness and joy. Crying is also a mechanism that allows us to release stress and emotional pain. Crying is an important safety valve, largely because keeping difficult feelings inside can be bad for our health.
Reflect on past experiences in which you were memorably sad, watch a film that made you cry before. Look at old photographs.
Practice gratitude: We are constantly bombarded by bad news about world events daily. Our thoughts are powerful things. Why Gratitude Journal? When you have positive thoughts and interactions, it’s easier to focus on what matters. Positive interactions free you up to have the energy to do what matters to you. When we keep a gratitude journal, we start to become grateful for things we observe, rather than things we expect.
Each night before you go to sleep.
1.Think of 3 good things that happened today.
2.Write them down.
3.Reflect on why they happened.