Whether you’re getting ready for a big test or trying to manage your stress as you’re going through school, work, or life in general, we all need to practice self-care. In this post, we’re going over six self-care tips to help you manage stress and take care of yourself.
But first, what exactly is self-care? Great question! According to the National Institute of Mental Health, they say “Self-care means taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical health and mental health”.
1 – Physical Activity
The first tip is to get some physical activity! Getting our body moving—no matter how we do it—tends to help both physically and mentally. This doesn’t have to be running a marathon. In fact, I often remind my therapy clients that one is better than zero. Meaning, one minute of physical activity is better than none.
So if running is your thing, do that! If you prefer a walk, great, that’s what you’ll want to do! Maybe you like weight lifting, yoga, swimming, dancing, or some other form of activity. If it gets your body moving, that’s the activity for you!
2 – Get Outside
The second tip is to get outside. Spending time in nature is another one of those things that tends to be really good for us. You might even be able to pair this one with the physical activity we just talked about, doing something like going for a walk outdoors. But, that doesn’t need to be the case. Maybe you enjoy bird watching, sitting on the beach, nature photography, or fishing—these are all ways to get outside.
There are times of the year where this is a bit more difficult. For example, I live in Minnesota and as I write this it’s currently -30°F (-34°C) outside. This makes it harder to get outside safely. That said, with the right gear, it is possible to still enjoy the great outdoors. But, it will usually mean that we spend less time out there and that we have to take a bit more care doing so. Other places are going to have the opposite problem where they will have heat waves, rather than the frigid cold of Minnesota. The same applies in those locations. You might have to take a bit more care being outside, but with the right precautions, it can still be possible. Keep in mind though, sometimes the weather may not be nice enough to be outside safely, or we know we won’t enjoy the conditions as they are. That’s okay—there are always other ways we can practice self-care.
3 – Make A Plan
The third tip for self care is to make a plan. Let’s be honest, when we’re stressed, it can be hard to make the time to take care of ourselves—much less actually remember what to do. That’s why it can be helpful to create a plan for your day. This could include making a list of things you are needing to get done, like laundry, paying a bill, or making a call. Then, actually blocking out the time throughout the day to do these things. In other words, you’re making a schedule that includes items from your to-do list, your usual daily activities, as well as setting aside some time for self-care.
This tip can help in multiple ways. First, a schedule can help by having less stuff swirling around in our mind. There is often a lot of benefit to getting it all out and onto a piece of paper. Second, we’re actually planning time for our self-care, which can make it more likely we actually do it. And third, there is often a sense of relief when we’re able to check things off our to-do list. Even if we don’t complete our whole list on that day, we can look back and see that we were able to make progress.
4 – Connect with Others
Like with physical activity and getting outdoors, connecting with others tends to be helpful for us. This tip (like the others) is one that can also take many forms. It might be going and chatting with someone at work for a few minutes, or planning an evening out with friends. It could be having supper with family or planning for a movie night with your partner. Connecting with others could also include calling someone you haven’t talked to in a while, or sending a kind note to someone who has been on your mind.
There are so many other ways we can connect with people, so have some fun with finding creative and clever ways to make a connection with another person. And here’s a bonus tip! I don’t think we necessarily need to limit this only to other people! There can be a lot of benefits to connecting with animals as well!
5 – Laugh!
Laughing is a great way to relieve stress and tension! And there are so many ways we can do it. It could be playing a game with family or friends, watching our favorite funny movie, or going to a comedy show. If there was one game that comes to mind that I think gets people to laugh it’s Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese Pizza. The concept behind the game is pretty simple, actually trying to do it is pretty tricky, which is the point. I highly recommend checking this game out!
6 – Do What You Enjoy!
Last, but not least, do what you enjoy! A great way to practice self-care is doing things that you find enjoyable, whether or not they’re in one of the above categories . This could be building LEGO, baking, cooking, cleaning—the list goes on! Many people can struggle with taking care of themselves. Like oxygen masks on a plane, they say to put ours on before we help anybody else. Self-care is like this also—if we’re not taking care of ourselves, we’re not going to be in the best place to help others either.
So whether it’s journaling or taking a relaxing bath, getting a massage or doing a craft, self-care can take many different forms. Whatever the best forms of self-care are for you, those are the ones to do!
If you or someone you know are needing immediate mental health assistance, please call or text 988, contact a local emergency telephone number, or go to the nearest emergency room.
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