Self-care isn’t only about intending and planning to take care of your being. You need to invest time in attending to your basic emotional, physical, and mental needs. It demands constant efforts to regain control of your life and learn to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. The whole idea is to make yourself smile inwardly by attending your personal needs a dose of love and kindness.
Self-care is giving importance to self. It’s not about being inconsiderate or selfish. It makes the person more energetic and effective. When people don’t care about their mental and physical wellness their self-esteem and confidence start depleting automatically. Self-care in simple words is about lifting your spirit and being optimistic about yourself. As a result, it will improve your self-esteem and confidence level.
Your friends and family too will learn the art of self-care from you if you practice it religiously. If you’ll take care of your needs, you can attend the needs of your loved ones in a better way. Self-care builds functional boundaries for the people so that they are reminded of meeting their own needs and avoid overworking/overextending themselves.
Self-care tips to improve mental health
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Take note of your thoughts – Remember, thoughts have the power to direct our lives. You can never achieve mental peace and fitness if your head is full of mess. Often, we don’t take notice of our thoughts and we let ourselves drift away with the flow of our thoughts (especially if they are anxious or negative ones). Though we may forget about those thoughts after an hour, they leave a lasting (adverse of course) impact on our mental health. We either feel discomfort or either break down consequently. So it’s important to take a moment and notice your thoughts so that you can deal with them accordingly.
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Get into the habit of morning mediation – Early morning mediation is highly challenging but equally beneficial to improve your focus, energy, and mental health. You’ll feel a sense of calmness and peace just with ten minutes of stillness and silence every morning. This will clear-up your mind and allow your subconscious mind to develop good and positive thoughts. Resultantly, you can focus on your goals better and you’ll be in a good mental state as morning mediation maximizes the productivity of the person.
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Focus on the positives - Cultivating positive thinking is one of the crucial steps to mental health self-care. Develop positive impressions and practice affirmations of self-love. Develop healthy mental habits like- focusing on the present, practising patience, exercising gratitude and accepting both the good and bad of life with positivity.
Self-care tips to improve physical health
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Ensure body nourishment with a healthy diet – This is one of the most important aspects of self-care. A happy mind always resides in a well-nourished, healthy body. Good nutrition and a balanced diet are essential for the body tissues, muscles, and organs to work properly. Poor eating habits and too much intake of fast food will make your body prone to fatigue, disease, and infection. Moreover, it will also affect your overall productivity and performance both in the short-term and long-term. So make sure to include fresh fruits, legumes, fresh vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and protein in your daily diet. More dietary tips here
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Get a sufficient amount of sleep – Insufficient hours of sleep at night means you’ll have cranky mood all day long the other day. If you skimp on your sleep consistently you are likely to mess up with your daily chores as your morning mood will be down more than often. Moreover, it increases the chances of a mood disorder. It’s important to get quality sleep regularly as it improves countless body issues such as blood sugar levels, chronic headache, and more.
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Do yourself a favour by getting into some form of exercise – Get into the habit of regular physical workouts. Alternatively, you may play your favourite sports to maintain your physical well-being. Sports activities like biking, running, and swimming will increase body energy levels, strengthen muscles, increase bone strength and help in maintaining the overall health of your body. Exercises also generate a sense of confidence in the individuals as they get in good shape. If you hate working-out find alternatives like a slow walk while talking on the phone, avoid the elevator and climb stairs, go on a bicycle ride for at least 40 minutes daily, etc.
The Final Say
Create a practical and easy to follow self-care plan. Think about the barriers you may have to face to accomplish those goals. Look for solutions to remove those obstacles and if you can’t do so simply customize your strategies accordingly. Make the necessary alterations in your plan to minimize/avoid those barriers. Keep in mind, self-care activities may seem challenging, but you can easily accomplish your goals if you are positive, determined, and passionate about it.
