The world that we live in is getting increasingly more and more busy. We have a thousand and one demands on our time, and for many of us, this leaves us feeling stressed out and mentally exhausted. It’s important to spend some time practicing self care – even if you feel guilty about it, there’s no way you can help other people if you have burned yourself out. Here are some tips on how you can do that.
Perform A Digital Detox
First of all, it’s time to digitally detox your life. Nobody’s saying you should grab your phone and drive to the nearest body of deep water so you can throw it in there, but it’s a great idea to make sure that there is a part of each day when you aren’t reachable on your cell. A perfect time to do this is the two hours before bed – any more demands from other people might make you unable to sleep, and the blue light emanated by phones and laptops can throw off your natural circadian rhythms. You may also find that there are certain apps on your phone where you can switch off notifications, which means that you’ll only check them when you want to instead of being distracted when you’re in the middle of another task.
Focus On Your Physical Self
It’s extremely important to focus on your body as well as your mind. Eating healthily and mindfully is a perfect way to do that – purchase fresh and seasonal produce instead of ready-made food or food that contains a lot of preservatives and chemicals. If you have any chronic health conditions like asthma or arthritis it’s important to keep on top of them. Continue checking in with your doctor and try to stay in touch with your body so you can work out if there are any changes. You could also try some gentle exercise. Walking is great for this – plus it’s extremely cheap since you don’t need any equipment except for a pair of good shoes. It can help heal sore backs and will help to improve your stamina. If you suffer from aches and pains, try swimming – the water cushions and supports your body so your joints won’t have any pressure put on them.
Learn To Treat Yourself With Kindness
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Finally, it’s important to learn to treat yourself well. Treating yourself with love is an act of radical kindness: a lot of the time the words we say to ourselves are words we would never tolerate hearing about our loved ones. But the truth is that we should be our own loved ones and best friends, so it’s time to change the story that you tell yourself. Focus on your accomplishments and achievements, and learn to enjoy being in your own company. You can take yourself to see a movie or for lunch, you can develop your own hobbies by going to a book club or a pottery class – you don’t have to go far or spend a lot of money to find new, fun things to do.
Focusing on yourself and your mental and physical health is the best way to find long-term serenity and happiness. Easier said than done, I know; but you can do it!
•How do you practice self-care?
This post was a collaboration.
Thank you for reading!