What is self-care?
A term often thrown around self-care, is often misunderstood. Some see it as simply numbing the pain, some see it as a way of self-improvement, but it is slightly different from self-improvement. Many times, numbing methods such as drinking, eating, and spending excess time on social media are seen as self-care.
Self-care is about allowing yourself to feel and allowing yourself to heal. It is about giving yourself the environment and means to nurture yourself in the present. Numbing will only lead to another day of feeling blue, but allowing yourself to feel will keep you in touch with your emotions too!
One important thing to remember is that self-care isn’t a one-time deal. It’s something we must all inculcate into our lifestyle because it should be a habit, not a task.
Importance of Self-Care
Do you ever forget to take care of yourself? Amidst all the work, our rapid lifestyles, and all the chaos, I’m pretty sure you do. But, taking care of yourself should be the first thing on your to-do list every day!
Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, why is it so important? What if I don’t have enough time every day to do self-care activities? Well, self-care is indispensable because it keeps you in touch with your emotions and ensures you are mentally and physically healthy. Even when you don’t have enough time in your hectic schedule, just take out a few minutes for yourself. Give yourself some time to breathe and do at least one of the following small self-care activities!
Self-Care Practices for the Mind
- Goof around for a bit: Goofing around could be as simple as dressing up just to feel powerful! You could turn on some loud music and dance away as if no one is watching. Just give yourself time to be you. Unplugged and unfiltered.
- Write yourself a letter: Tell yourself how important you are to yourself, you could even write yourself an “open when” letter series!
- Journaling: If you don’t feel like writing a letter, a daily journal is something that can definitely help. Make this a habit. Every day, even if you write just a one-liner about how your day went, it’ll help you in expressing yourself. A daily journaling habit is something we should all have. It keeps us in touch with our feelings and helps us internalize and channelize our thoughts in the healthiest way possible!
- Listen to music: Play your favorite song and sing along. Sing loudly and feel every word as you do your mini-concert and perform for yourself!
- Declutter your space: Whether it’s your workspace or your room, declutter it. Clean up, and while you’re at it, take a social detox. Put all your devices on airplane mode, and just give yourself some time with your surroundings as you set things right!
Self-Care Practices for the Body
- Skin-care and Hair-care routine: Admitting to a routine is always helpful, it gives you a sense of control and discipline. If routines have something to do with taking care of our skin and hair, that’s even better! Giving yourself a hair spa or facials, that’s really something you can count upon.
- Exercising: Waking up in the morning, having a little walk, or running with the wind. Taking deep breaths and stretching the hell out of yourself, really works when you’re having a stressful time. During this pandemic, most of our time goes in front of the screen sitting like a couch potato. But, if you take out just half an hour and do some yoga, you won’t regret it.
- Good sleep: this Pandemic has done nothing but increases our screen-time, whether it be our online work or lousy scrolling on Instagram. This costs us our good night’s sleep. Sleeping on time every day and a minimum of 7-8 hours is really important and is really peaceful.
- Eating and drinking healthy : eating boiled food, eating green vegetables, drinking bitter gourd juice! Well, staying healthy isn’t that difficult. We know that in order to stay fit and healthy, the food we consume plays a very crucial role. We are wise, mature beings and with one cheat day a week, I think we are good to go.
Self-Care Practices for the Soul
- Doing something that you like: your interests or hobbies can be anything and everything. Whether it be reading a detective series or binge-watching the same, whether it be dancing on your own music or composing one. Engaging in these hobbies of yours would really be refreshing and a break from everything.
- Reaching out to a loved one: you know that time when you are so burdened with your work that you start feeling lost. Checking up on your friends, sitting with your father while watching TV, helping mom in the kitchen really makes you feel connected to the world. That’s right, Communication is key!
- Have A good laugh: Laugh it out! Watch some funny and light shows on Netflix or on TV, or if you are into books then go lookout for some comics.
- Writing: before going to sleep, write. Write about something good, or even worse, that happened. Always remember, it will get better. You will rise back up again. A bad day isn’t the end of the world, we all have them. It’s okay to not be okay.
Conclusion
With a little bit of attention, you will be able to do it. Remember that it’s for your own good, you have to look out for yourself. The best way to make sure you procrastinate less and increase your productivity is by hustling every day. Give it your best shot, but while you’re at it, don’t forget to take care of yourself. Self-care is key! Don’t lose faith, get up every day and work for it. So, which one of these will you try first?
Written by Nandinii and Shipra
