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This blog post is about self-care.
Self-care is the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health.
Taking an active role in protecting your own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.
To break it down a little further:
Self-care is anything we purposely do to take care of our mental, physical and emotional health.
It’s often overlooked, which then effects our relationship with ourselves and other people. It can also be a positive band-aid solution for depression, anxiety and other mental and physical ailments.
The reason I say band-aid is because you should still seek professional help when you can. But it can definitely help in the interim time when you aren't seeing a therapist or some other professional for your ailments.
So now for what self-care is not and I think it's very important to point this point out so that people are further damaging in themselves in the name of self-care:
Self-care isn't a selfish act so don't let that deter you from taking care of yourself you can't pour from an empty cup.
All in all, it should not feel like a sacrifice or having to choose between one thing or another. Self- care should be something that you always make time for.
Self-care also shouldn't be a burden it shouldn't be something that you have to drag yourself to do it should just be in your regular routine and for the preservation of your overall health.
Moving on to implementing:
Pretty much start with the idea that self-care is what's gonna help you live a balanced life.
First things 1st keep it Simple make a list of things that already bring you joy but that aren't toxic
From that list you can start to form your own rhythm and routine and be able to implement it into your daily life more easily.
You making that list is the first step to self care because self care needs to be something that you actively plan for yourself not something that just happens when you have some free time.
When making your list be aware of what the activity makes you feel and how you feel afterwards.
Some easy forms of self-care that don’t require much thought can be things like:
Self-expression: singing, dancing, writing, painting, photography
You can also do things like:
making a healthy meal
meal prepping for the week
Making a list of habits that you'd like to change or things you'd like to stop doing because they don't serve you anymore:
Not being on the phone after a certain time at night
Not being on the phone or watching TV while you enjoy a meal
Not staying up 2 ridiculous hours at night (but I'm being hypocritical and adding this to the list because last night i was up till 3 am watching YouTube videos.)
Now let’s unpack that:
That's the perfect example of what not to do when trying to implement a self-care routine because while I enjoy watching YouTube videos and I enjoy the quietness of staying up late at night it’s not good for my health to not get any sleep. Because if you dig further into this one seemingly harmless activity. After staying up till 3:00 AM watching YouTube videos I then have to wake up at no later than 8:00 AM because my son is up and then I now have an attitude with my son in my cats for no reason other than that I'm tired because I chose to stay up till 3:00 AM watching YouTube videos .
OK so triggered and moving on
A few other things to add to your routine:
Spending time with people you love
Exercising (and that does not mean you need to join a gym) you can just take a walk around your neighborhood or at your favorite park go hiking do some yoga there are plenty of free yoga videos really great yoga videos on YouTube
Also self-care can include making and keeping up with your medical appointments.
Constantly checking in with yourself and making sure you're not ignoring those little aches and pains.
Lastly, consider the spaces that you spend the most time in meaning your home in your work:
If you live in an environment where you don't have much control over the design aspects any little thing helps put on a Himalayan salt lamp beside your bed a diffuser and diffuser favorite scent mine is lavender.
If you do have control however take some design tests online and see what aesthetic you want to create inside of your home for example my room has a kind of bohemian vibe going there's tapestries everywhere, everywhere there's rugs all over the floor, I have hella blankets and pillows my room is very soft and noise dampening. At night I rarely turn on the big light on the ceiling I usually have my fairy lights on or some low light situation and i have my room set up in a way where I could have had the most stressful day ever but all I had to do was walk into my room and into instant weight lifted off my shoulders and then up with lavender in the diffuser and it's a rap and I'm good for the rest of the night.
So my assignment for you is to set up a 30 day self-care routine for yourself:
Use Microsoft Word or something like that in print off- the calendar for this month
You can start small right one self-care thing for you to do each day for the first week and then start to implement a few more things until you have a full blown routine on your hands.
While you're trying out this new routine, journal and take note if you are feeling different better with the self-care if you're not feeling better than maybe re-evaluate the things you’re considering self-care
Hopefully, you'll be on the road to living a slightly less stressed life.
As a bonus i have another guided meditation for you try it out melt some of that stress off ya and hopefully put a smile on your face.
I hope this was helpful and informative for you all.
Please let know if you have any questions.
Thewanderingbohem across all platforms or thewanderingbohem@gmail.com
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I look forward to growing with you. See you soon!
High Priestess, Out!
