“How to self care?”
I’m sure everyone, but especially seniors, can agree that the Spring is a pretty stressful time. Teachers are trying to cram in work to make sure they finish everything on time, college decisions are finally being made, finals are coming up and summer plans are being made. Stress can really take a toll on you, both physically and mentally. So how do you relax the affects of stress? Self care!
But how do you effectively practice self care? It differs for everyone depending on their personalities and what is causing the unwanted stress. According to The National Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, there are 8 aspects of overall personal wellness that need to be kept in balance. Those aspects are: emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual. This may seem like a lot of aspects that we need to constantly be focusing on, but it only takes a few minutes a day on each to keep everything balanced.
So how do you care for each aspect?
For emotional, try journaling, listening to music, working out or just taking a nap.
For environment, clean your room or decorate it to make it more you, take a walk to get fresh air, or just cloud gaze.
To take care of your financial needs try cutting back on unnecessary spending, creating a financial plan, saving a dollar a day or investing. If you have accounting and financial matters you need to attend to, then make sure that you utilize best practices for ap automation by coreintegrator to increase your cost savings.
For intellectual read a book, do a puzzle, watch something informative, take a class or try a brain teaser.
Occupational may require some bigger changes. If you are happy with your job currently then you are already taking care of that aspect. If you think you deserve a raise or a promotion, ask. Or, quit your job if it makes you unhappy. Work on your resume and look for a job that will make you happy.
To take care of your physical needs, eat healthy, move your body, and consider naturally flavoured protein with no artificial additives to support your nutrition, while ensuring you get enough sleep.
To make sure your social needs are fulfilled, spend time with your friends and/or family, call someone or try to make a new friend.
And finally, practice some meditation, journal mindfully or help those in need to fulfill your spiritual needs.
Let’s go through what a day of “self care” looks like for me. My self care days are typically Sundays as I work and/or go to school every other day of the week. I try to get all of my social activities or errands done after work on Saturdays so that I can have the entirety of Sunday to do nothing. First step, sleep in. Because I open my place of work on Saturdays and I have to be up for school during the week, Sunday is my one day to sleep past 6 am. I usually sleep until about 8:30/9 am. I then make my way downstairs to have a good breakfast. Then, I sit on the couch and take some time for myself. I love watching Youtube videos because I always learn something new and they always make me laugh. So, I spend time just watching videos that make me happy. After that, I’ll head upstairs to start cleaning my room. Because I am so busy during the week, I don’t always take good care of my living space. Having a clean room makes me feel refreshed, so this is an important step for me. Next, I’ll take a nice long shower while listening to one of my favorite podcasts. This part always makes me feel so relaxed. After my shower, I’ll do a skin care routine. Taking care of my self and my skin is important because it reminds me that I am important. I start by putting oil on my face and using a Gua Sha. Then I rinse with water and use an exfoliating face scrub. And the most important step is moisturizing! After I finish all of that, I’ll maybe read a book. Taking some time away from your phone is important as it lets you actually take some time for yourself. And, to finish off the day, I’ll spend some time with my family. Family is also very important to me, so having quality time with them always leaves me in a good mood.
While this self care routine leaves me feeling refreshed and relaxed, this is not for everyone. We all have different aspects of our lives that may need more attention. So, first take a look at the 8 aspects that I listed before and decide what you could improve on. Once you have picked those out, decide which way(s) working on them would fit into your life. You could practice one aspect a day if you have time, or you could pick one day of the week to make it your self care day. Whatever way you go about it, just make sure you are taking time to take care of yourself.