SELF CARE
Hei!
It's been a while as I have been moving and settling and taking time for self care. Living with depression and anxiety means that at stressful times it's extremly important for me to take time a side and feel better before rushing into working on things that might take my time and energy.
You are the most important person in your life
Self care is a valuable skill that I think should be taught in school. It's important to know how to look after yourself and take time for yourself in the busy western world we live in. You can so easily get lost in the everyday tasks you need to do in order to be able to get by. Sometimes it's easy to forget yourself and your needs when everyone, including yourself, is pushing you to do more and especially to work more. But without looking after ourselves we can never reach our true potential. Sometimes we are not even able to get through the everyday tasks and this could be due to exhaustion, stress, mental illness or any other sickness. I do believe that through self care even those days can be a little bit easier on us. So here are some of my thoughts and tips on how to introduce self care to your life and what I think of as self care in my own life.
1. SPEND A DAY IN BED. It's important to have enough sleep so that your body and mind stays healthy. Sometimes even if we are not working extra time our mind thinks it should. Tossing and turning in bed until late or watching films or tv-shows until passing out at 2am and then starting the day again early in the morning doesn't really give us enough rest. Sometimes you need to reset your routine and give yourself a day in bed. Everyone is different and some might find it helpful to sleep in and wake up in your own time. Once you've gotten enough rest, have a great breakfast and list things that need to get done. But remember you need your rest so only start working on your list the next day. Change your sheets, take a bath and enjoy your day off.
2. REDUCE STRESS, LESSEN WORKLOAD. Not everyone can take a day off or they don't feel like it would be necessary. It's important to give yourself rest in any case so find what works for you. This could mean delegating tasks to others at work or at home. First it might be hard to ask help, but it's better to ask and get the help rather than working yourself to a point of burn out. So ask a colleague to help you with your work, don't take on new projects until you have worked previous ones. Ask help from friends and family on tasks you need to get done, even if it's the smallest things or bigger things. If you have a lot of things to do, make a list and mark the three most important tasks and work on those first. It's important to remember you do not have to have everything perfect and by concentrating on one thing at a time you won't overwhelm yourself.
3. DO THINGS YOU LOVE DOING. Spend a day or even an evening doing things that make you feel good. This can be taking a walk, going to your favourite cafe, buying a new book or grabbing one from your bookshelf and curling up under blankets reading. It can be anything that just makes you happy. Even better if it's something that makes you feel better about yourself. This could be volunteering, writing stories, making a present for someone (or to yourself) or going to a samba class. For example on a day off I might go and get a coffee at my favourite cafe, go to a comic book shop (I didn't even need to buy anything, just looking around is nice), eat my favourite food and watch a film while crafting.
4. EAT HEALTHY. This can mean different things to different people, but the main point is that in order to get through your days you need energy and food gives you that. Personally I have sometimes had trouble with eating, especially in the morning. I usually feel ill right after waking up. This has changed by creating a routine. Now I at least eat a big breakfast and dinner. This of course depends on what time I wake up, sometimes I can also squeeze in lunch. Sometimes when I have been really low due to my depression I have found it hard to eat anything. My goal for those days is to eat at least something and usually I have easy snacks like apples sliced into cubes in a lunch box or nuts that are in a drawer by my bed. Easy and healthy snacks make it easier to eat when you have lost your appetite or find it hard to get out of bed. When I could afford it I'd also order take away on the hardest days, and most wouldn't consider take away as healthy but like I said on the worst days it's better to eat something than nothing at all!
5. CREATIVE OUTLETS. You don't need to be creative to do creative things. You can for example journal, colour colouringbooks, do gardening, sow or knit or even cut pictures out of magazines and papers and make a collage. All this can be just for you and you don't ever need to show your creations to others. It's more about the process. I have always found journaling as something that has helped me to process things and it has also worked as a way of expressing myself when I have not been able to do that in any other way. You can write diary entries, or create various trackers that you can use to help check up on how you're doing. You can also fill the journals with pictures you like or quotes that inspire you. I have combined these all in the way I journal. I have always written a lot and collected things that I liked and inspired me into my journals. Recently I have also added another element: bullet journaling. It has brought trackers into my life, where I can tick off different tasks that I hope to create into habits. These include drinking enough water, doing yoga, checking my emails, eating breakfast and reading. I tried to keep my tracker habits as things I wanted to add to my life as well as things that I wish I did more. I have also added positive affirmations into my daily routine of journaling as a way of creating more positive thoughts. When I'm depressed I tend to go to the negative ones and this helps fighting against those thoughts.
6. ROUTINES. I have not always been able to wake up early and I've never really been one to have routines. The more I've learned about living a mental illness, the more I've been convinced that routines help. I have mentioned routines regarding eating healthier and with journaling and keeping my mental health in check. When you have some kind of structure in your life, it is easier to remember to take your meds, to have enough sleep, to eat right, to have exercise. It's sometimes hard to start routines but I have created mine with a help of an app. The app that I have used to create my new habits is called Fabulous. It introduces you one habit at a time and only after you have mastered that, it'll give you another. It took me a while and I'm still not perfect but I'm glad I started! Now my mornings have a structure and a routine that once I start, I find myself all ready for the day even if I woke up I feeling low.
7. FORGIVE YOURSELF. I have left the best for last. The most important thing when looking after yourself is to forgive yourself. Forgive for not always being 100% and not always being able to reach your goals or the goals others have set for you. Forgive and let yourself rest. There's always a new day tomorrow.
Not everything works for everyone, and finding the things that help you can take time. It's also about trial and error where you won't know if something works until you try it. It takes 30 days for a habit to stick, so you also need to be patient with yourself. Once again, forgive yourself if sometimes thing's don't work out the way you thought.
It is important to be aware and to listen to your inner voice, so that you know when you're not doing well or when you need to take a break. It's better to act before things get worse. Some people might have a harder time finding their inner voice in which case I would suggest doing meditation or journaling or both. The key here is to quiet down the noise around you and allow yourself to be able to explore the feelings you might be experiencing. As I said some might find it hard to listen and understand their inner voice, and sometimes some might need help with it. Therapists can be a good option as they will be able to help you in ways you might not know yourself. If you are having trouble remembering what you have been thinking during the week or find yourself in a place where you have nothing to say in your sessions, I do recommend journaling. Even if it is you writing down a few words everyday or having a mood tracker, at least then you can take that with you and go over your thoughts and moods with your therapist. They can then help you explore those thoughts and feelings further.
7 SELF CARE TIPS
1. SPEND A DAY IN BED. It's important to have enough sleep so that your body and mind stays healthy. Sometimes even if we are not working extra time our mind thinks it should. Tossing and turning in bed until late or watching films or tv-shows until passing out at 2am and then starting the day again early in the morning doesn't really give us enough rest. Sometimes you need to reset your routine and give yourself a day in bed. Everyone is different and some might find it helpful to sleep in and wake up in your own time. Once you've gotten enough rest, have a great breakfast and list things that need to get done. But remember you need your rest so only start working on your list the next day. Change your sheets, take a bath and enjoy your day off.
2. REDUCE STRESS, LESSEN WORKLOAD. Not everyone can take a day off or they don't feel like it would be necessary. It's important to give yourself rest in any case so find what works for you. This could mean delegating tasks to others at work or at home. First it might be hard to ask help, but it's better to ask and get the help rather than working yourself to a point of burn out. So ask a colleague to help you with your work, don't take on new projects until you have worked previous ones. Ask help from friends and family on tasks you need to get done, even if it's the smallest things or bigger things. If you have a lot of things to do, make a list and mark the three most important tasks and work on those first. It's important to remember you do not have to have everything perfect and by concentrating on one thing at a time you won't overwhelm yourself.
3. DO THINGS YOU LOVE DOING. Spend a day or even an evening doing things that make you feel good. This can be taking a walk, going to your favourite cafe, buying a new book or grabbing one from your bookshelf and curling up under blankets reading. It can be anything that just makes you happy. Even better if it's something that makes you feel better about yourself. This could be volunteering, writing stories, making a present for someone (or to yourself) or going to a samba class. For example on a day off I might go and get a coffee at my favourite cafe, go to a comic book shop (I didn't even need to buy anything, just looking around is nice), eat my favourite food and watch a film while crafting.
4. EAT HEALTHY. This can mean different things to different people, but the main point is that in order to get through your days you need energy and food gives you that. Personally I have sometimes had trouble with eating, especially in the morning. I usually feel ill right after waking up. This has changed by creating a routine. Now I at least eat a big breakfast and dinner. This of course depends on what time I wake up, sometimes I can also squeeze in lunch. Sometimes when I have been really low due to my depression I have found it hard to eat anything. My goal for those days is to eat at least something and usually I have easy snacks like apples sliced into cubes in a lunch box or nuts that are in a drawer by my bed. Easy and healthy snacks make it easier to eat when you have lost your appetite or find it hard to get out of bed. When I could afford it I'd also order take away on the hardest days, and most wouldn't consider take away as healthy but like I said on the worst days it's better to eat something than nothing at all!
5. CREATIVE OUTLETS. You don't need to be creative to do creative things. You can for example journal, colour colouringbooks, do gardening, sow or knit or even cut pictures out of magazines and papers and make a collage. All this can be just for you and you don't ever need to show your creations to others. It's more about the process. I have always found journaling as something that has helped me to process things and it has also worked as a way of expressing myself when I have not been able to do that in any other way. You can write diary entries, or create various trackers that you can use to help check up on how you're doing. You can also fill the journals with pictures you like or quotes that inspire you. I have combined these all in the way I journal. I have always written a lot and collected things that I liked and inspired me into my journals. Recently I have also added another element: bullet journaling. It has brought trackers into my life, where I can tick off different tasks that I hope to create into habits. These include drinking enough water, doing yoga, checking my emails, eating breakfast and reading. I tried to keep my tracker habits as things I wanted to add to my life as well as things that I wish I did more. I have also added positive affirmations into my daily routine of journaling as a way of creating more positive thoughts. When I'm depressed I tend to go to the negative ones and this helps fighting against those thoughts.
6. ROUTINES. I have not always been able to wake up early and I've never really been one to have routines. The more I've learned about living a mental illness, the more I've been convinced that routines help. I have mentioned routines regarding eating healthier and with journaling and keeping my mental health in check. When you have some kind of structure in your life, it is easier to remember to take your meds, to have enough sleep, to eat right, to have exercise. It's sometimes hard to start routines but I have created mine with a help of an app. The app that I have used to create my new habits is called Fabulous. It introduces you one habit at a time and only after you have mastered that, it'll give you another. It took me a while and I'm still not perfect but I'm glad I started! Now my mornings have a structure and a routine that once I start, I find myself all ready for the day even if I woke up I feeling low.
7. FORGIVE YOURSELF. I have left the best for last. The most important thing when looking after yourself is to forgive yourself. Forgive for not always being 100% and not always being able to reach your goals or the goals others have set for you. Forgive and let yourself rest. There's always a new day tomorrow.
Listen to yourself and trust yourself
Not everything works for everyone, and finding the things that help you can take time. It's also about trial and error where you won't know if something works until you try it. It takes 30 days for a habit to stick, so you also need to be patient with yourself. Once again, forgive yourself if sometimes thing's don't work out the way you thought.
It is important to be aware and to listen to your inner voice, so that you know when you're not doing well or when you need to take a break. It's better to act before things get worse. Some people might have a harder time finding their inner voice in which case I would suggest doing meditation or journaling or both. The key here is to quiet down the noise around you and allow yourself to be able to explore the feelings you might be experiencing. As I said some might find it hard to listen and understand their inner voice, and sometimes some might need help with it. Therapists can be a good option as they will be able to help you in ways you might not know yourself. If you are having trouble remembering what you have been thinking during the week or find yourself in a place where you have nothing to say in your sessions, I do recommend journaling. Even if it is you writing down a few words everyday or having a mood tracker, at least then you can take that with you and go over your thoughts and moods with your therapist. They can then help you explore those thoughts and feelings further.
I hope some of these have been helpful, although I feel like I could talk much more on each topic.
If you would be interested in me exploring one or more of the points further, let me know in the comments!
Here are some useful links:
The app that has helped me create new routines, one habit at a time!
The original page for the original way of bullet journaling.
A blogger that inspired me to start bullet journaling and on her blog you can also find various topics on health and well being as well as tips for bloggers and entrepreneurs.
Comments
Post a Comment