Hey friends,
What a two weeks it’s been. If you’re feeling at all jittery, anxious, or even physically run down, you’re not alone!
When the world around us is changing, our bodies and minds notice. They react the best ways they know how to keep us protected. They might want us to be alert and ready to “fight or flight.” They might want us to recharge and sleep.
Give yourself the grace to go at any pace.
So while our bodies, our thoughts, and our emotions are taking care of us—we can return the favor with some extra self-care this week
Physical Care
We’ve only got one body—let’s show them some love!
- Drink water. Feeling groggy? Sleepy? That could be your body asking for some refreshment. It’s amazing what the right hydration can do.
- Eat yummy meals. Feeling blah could be due to a lack of fruits, veggies, or vitamins. But that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in your favorite snack!
- Find time to move around. You don’t need an hour-long regimen, but find active breaks between your other activities. Dance down the stairs. Jog around the kitchen. Warm up those muscles and get the blood pumping!
- At the same time, don’t push too hard. This is a time to give yourself balance. Scale numbers or abs in the mirror don’t matter—YOU matter!
- Get clean. At the end of a long—wait what day is it again?—treat ‘yo self to a warm, bubbly bath. Face masks too? Don’t mind if we do.
- Nap it out. Did you know that our bodies do most of their growing and healing while we’re asleep? It’s true. So if someone asks why you took a snooze, tell them, “I👏🏼was👏🏼busy👏🏼growing.”
Mental Care
Experts estimate that our brains think between 60-80,000 thoughts per day! That’s thousands of thoughts per minute. Phew. Give yourself some mental refreshment this week:
- Breathe deeply. Try this exercise when you feel overwhelmed: Give yourself one minute of “timeout” to focus on your breath. Nothing else matters for a whole minute. Breathe in for 4 seconds… hold the breath for 8 seconds... release the breath for 8 seconds... Repeat.
- Dive into a book. Our minds love a nice word workout. Keep your comprehension sharp with some new finds or old favorites! Books also go well with a nice cup of coffee or hot chocolate. :)
- Learn a new hobby. Not out of pressure to be “productive” but because it's good for us! Learning new skills keeps our minds growing. Who knows, maybe you’ll discover a secret talent!
- Stay informed, but also put limits on your time spent on news apps and websites. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all of the things we can’t control. Love your mind and remember that you can always do the next right thing, no matter what’s going on.
Emotional Care
When your feelings feel like.. a lot:
- Note your emotions. The next time something feels “off,” take a second to play detective. What exactly am I feeling? Angry? Scared? Embarrassed? Then see if you can figure out what’s making me feel that way? You don’t have to stop the feeling, but by slowing down to understand the what/why, we can better process it.
- Curate your space. If you’re someone who is heavily influenced by your environment, make sure your space reflects the emotions you’d like to have. Organize any mess, add calming colors, declutter down to the essentials, make it a YOU space.
- Express yourself! What kind of creating makes you feel just great? Writing? Drawing? Singing? Website programming? Whatever you love, creating something new is a fun way to process your emotions.
- Create margins. You don’t have to be doing something every second of the day. It’s important not to burn yourself out. Take time at the beginning and end of each day—and even in the moments in-between—to check in on your emotions.
- Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. If you get upset at yourself easily, ask instead, “How would I treat a friend who was feeling this way?” You would probably say something encouraging and understanding, right? Show yourself the same love!
- Check in with friends. It doesn’t have to be a two hour video call—OR maybe that’s just what you need. But touch base with people you love and trust. Verbalize your emotions. Listen to theirs. We’re all in this together. :)
Don’t feel pressure to use all of these tips at once, but pick your favorites and create a few self-care routines this week.
Maybe share them with a friend who needs some extra love. Lower the expectations you may be feeling to perform or hold it all together.
And always remember that YOU matter.