The Importance of Self Care.
Self care is about doing things you know will make you feel good. Things that give you the feeling that you get when you eat soup, that warm and comfortable happiness that we don't feel as often as we should.
Lets face it, not all of us feel happy all of the time. Some are happy most of the time, some of us not so much. Some people haven't got time to even scratch their arse, let alone make time for themselves, but fret not there are small little changes that you can add into your daily routine to stop you feeling pysically and mentally drained. I find it ironic that I am writing this as I have had such a whirlwind past few weeks, and I haven't had a chance to practise my self care as I usually would. Hopefully me writing this blog post will give me the push I need to make myself feel better and not be a hypocrate.
- Switch out caffiene: or at least cut it to one serving. Im not a huge coffee drinker myself, however I would happily send 80 cups of tea down the hatch a day if it were up to me. Tea is full of sugar (at least mine is, I'm the one who lies about how much sugar she takes when she's in someone else's house so she doesn't seem like a crazy person who keeps sugar in her bag, but alas, I am.) There is also a caffeine content in tea. I have tried to limit myself to one cup of regular tea a day, and as many cups of herbal tea as I can stomach, Ive really been loving Chamomile tea lately, I find its a great one to help me sleep, calm my anxiety and just make me the 'normal' me. Peppermint tea is also a good option, once you get over the fact that it smells a little like mouthwash, you will be golden. Ginger and Roobios tea is a great middle of the day tea, especially if you have had a big lunch/ huge sandwich and your jeans are imprinting onto your skin.
- Get out into Nature: This could be a personal one, but I find getting out into the fresh air, even if its just a walk around your garden, or on the road you live on, it is so good to clear your head. I try as often as I can to go on little trips and hikes and just immerse myself in the calm and the quietness. Okay, not everyone has time for hikes, but you do get a lunchtime every day, so search for where your nearest park is, take your lunch with you and go eat in the park while looking at cute dogs. Try and not scream when they do something cute cause you are on your own eating a sandwich and you might inhale a rogue pepper and might embarrass yourself in front of said dog.
- Have yourself some ME time: This one is as important as any, your mind is somewhere where only you can hide, only you can truly know how you are feeling behind the 'Oh yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired.' Take time every day if you can, to check in with yourself and see if there is anything that is bothering you, that could be the smelly man on the bus beside you eating a egg mayonnaise sandwich, which you unfortunately cannot do anything about only try focus on not breathing or moving seats without looking rude. Or it could be that, hey, maybe I'm not as happy as I am pretending to be, whats causing that? Am I happy in my job? In my relationship? You need to sit down with yourself and have a good think about things like that. I like to sit down and have those thoughts while I'm running a bath, that way I can come to a best conclusion before I hop in so nothing can bother my watching Friday Night Lights in the dark. Taking a bath is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself.
- Supplement your way through the day: Some say supplements are a load of crap. I personally feel like they help. The ones I help me the most are a pro-biotic, b complex, b12, and evening primrose oil capsules. These help me function, help my skin, and help my stomach. I would highly recommend a B complex & b12 in your daily routine, I've found it works wonders for my energy and mental health.
- Take up something enlightening: This could be just going to the gym, taking a class, or practising yoga. I find a mix of all three works best for me. Most importantly, the Yoga. I know there is a lot of spectation around yoga and that you have to be a weird little hippy to enjoy it ( which I am, but it doesn't mean that you have to be) Yoga is a practise of light stretching and meditation. Letting go of the world and its problems, even if its only for an hour. I practise yoga at home, and I take it in a class at my gym. I recently tried a Body Balance class, that is a mixture of Yoga, Tai Chi, and meditation. I felt very flat and miserable going in, and during the meditation I had a bit of a cry ( not a Kim K type of cry don't worry) but a cry nonetheless, and I just felt everything I was worried about, everything I was holding onto, everything that had me miserable, escape through the tears. I know that sounds like an emo lyric from 2005 but you get the drift.
and most importantly:
- Remember self care is all about you: I know I find, the last person I have time for is myself. I would much rather use my time to help my friends out during a hard time, make dinner/lunch/food for my significant other while he is working hard, clean, put washes on, etc etc, rather than sit down and just take 5 minutes for myself, and if I do my mind is racing with things I should be doing. I would say thats more my anxiety than anything else. Take at least 20 minutes of your day to just totally focus on you. Without sounding very lame, you, your mind and your body are the only things you will ever have forever, so look after them.
Apologies for my lack of writing lately, I have a lot more posts planned for the next few weeks,
Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to see from me.
Moody Blue Vintage
x
Comments
Post a Comment