Self Care
How well do you take care of yourself?
Do you manage to keep good habits when you’re busy ?
I’m work in progress on this. I have a bad habit of letting my self care slip when I’m busy. I lack sleep, don’t always eat as healthy and can forget to take breaks when sitting too long at the computer.
I usually still keep up my exercise the majority of the time, but other things tend to slip. Yet it’s when we’re busy that it’s even more important to keep up our self care routine.
I found this great article which i have slightly reworded for you to help foster a good self care routine. Taken from Psychcentral Blog
What is self-care?
Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Although it’s a simple concept in theory, it’s not always easily practised.
Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety. It’s also key to a good relationship with oneself and others.
Self-care is something that refuels us, rather than takes from us.
It’s always something that we enjoy and never something we have to force ourselves to do.
Self-care is not being selfish. It’s considering our needs, and knowing what we need to do in order to take care of ourselves.
It’s only when we take care of ourself can we have the ability and energy to take care of others .
In a few words, self-care is the key to living a balanced life
When planning self care, start by always thinking of these 3 things …
- Stick to the basics. Over time you’ll find your own routine. You’ll be able to implement more and identify the type of self-care that works for you.
- Self-care is a choice, so it needs to be actively planned, it’s not something that just happens. Adding certain activities to your calendar, or announcing your plans to others will increase your commitment.
- Only do what feels right for you and always be conscious of what you do. You have to personally consider something as self care for it to work. Be aware of what you do, why you do it, how it feels, and what the outcomes are.
Although self-care means different things to different people, there’s a basic checklist that can be followed by everyone:
- Create a “no” list, with things you know you don’t like or you no longer want to do. Eg: Not checking emails at night, not attending outings you don’t enjoy, not checking your phone at mealtimes.
- Maintain a nutritious, healthy diet.
- Get enough sleep. Adults usually need 7-8 hours of sleep each night.
- Exercise – to help emotional and physical health. It increases serotonin levels, leading to improved mood and energy. Always choose what you enjoy. Of course this is Pilates! hehe
- Follow-up with your personal medical care, check ups and tests.
- Use relaxation exercises, practice meditation, yoga and or breathing techniques.
- Spend time with friends and family.
- Do at least one relaxing activity every day, whether it’s taking a walk or spending 30 minutes unwinding with your fav podcast and cup of coffee.
- Do at least one pleasurable activity every day; eg go to a movie, get a massage, cook your favourite meal, meet up with friends.
- Look for opportunities to laugh!
Set up a 15-day self-care routine and see how you feel before and after.
And never forget, as with everything, self-care takes practice!
The last few months have been really busy for me, so this month I’ll be consciously practising more self care.
Will you join me?
Let me know what you already do or plan to do for self care in the comments below.
Lots of love
Em
xxx
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