Five Examples Of Self-Care You May Not Have Known

 

Self-care is a wonderful concept that has many health benefits. It can help your entire being. When you take the time and energy to care for yourself, you will reap the benefits in your “mind-body.” Self-care has a lot of connotations.

You might imagine taking a bubble bath, going for a bike ride, making time for friends, or sitting down to read a book. These are all valid forms of self-care. There are plenty of ways to engage in caring for yourself. Everyone has their favorite self-care exercises. Some of these activities aren’t as common, but they will help you use good self-care.

You don’t have to feel bad when you put yourself first. In fact, it can cause stress relief when you let go of the pressure to please others. Self-care should make you feel good. You might have a hard time starting a self-care routine, but it will only get better once you begin. First, you should know that there are different types of ways to care for yourself.

There’s physical self-care and mental self-care. Regardless of which type you’re working on, it’s about making time to take care of your needs. The best self-care happens when you’re enjoying spending time alone. However, there are some activities that you can participate in where you’re taking care of yourself and you’re around others.

Good self-care means that you’ve considered your wants and needs, and you’re tending to them. You’re engaging in activities that make you feel good. A self-care activity serves to make you feel whole. Here are five different examples of self-care activities and ideas that you may not have perceived as such.

Eliminating Toxic People Or Situations

As we go through life, we meet many interesting people. Some of them will stay while others will go. Sometimes you have to decide to end a relationship for the sake of your mental health and self-care. It’s challenging to cut people out of your life, but sometimes it’s for the best. We all have connections to loved ones.

We’re continually making time to spend with our circle of friends and family. However, sometimes, the individuals we interact with aren’t good for us. There are usually warning signs that a person is toxic to you. They might not respect your belief system, or perhaps they invalidate your feelings. It’s crucial to be mindful of how your loved ones treat you. Pay attention to the red flags or warning signs.

Toxic people can exist in your friend group, with your co-workers, or in your family dynamic. One important part of self-care is catering to the list of which people you let into your life. There are some people we can’t cut out. If you’re working in a job that you like, but some co-workers aren’t mentally healthy, you can’t tell them to buzz off. But, there are plenty of other circumstances where you can eliminate toxic people from your circle. It could be a friend who triggers you or doesn’t respect your needs. It might even be a family member who refuses to respect your boundaries.

You have control over who you spend time with, and that’s a part of self-care. If a family member is cruel to you, you can disconnect from the conversation. You don’t have to let them treat you poorly. The family member in question probably knows your vulnerabilities and is poking at them. That’s not okay, and you don’t have to continue interacting with them if they’re mistreating you.

You can practice good self-care by taking a step away from toxic people. Take a moment and consider the positive people and influences you want in your life. Surround yourself with those individuals because that’s a form of self-care. Remember, this is your life, and you get to decide who is in it.

Social Media Detox

Social media has a lot of advantages. You can connect with friends and family on these platforms. All you need to do to sign up for an account is to fill out the required fields with your name, email, and identifying information. Once you’re online and talking to people, it’s exciting.

You can learn about the various health benefits of different foods or exercises by reading articles that your friends share. Part of self-care is doing research on wellness. You want to learn what foods are good for staying healthy and what physical exercises can help your wellbeing.

Social media is full of information that people share, but it can also be too overwhelming. You might not feel good after spending hours online. Maybe someone who is following you gave you questionable medical advice, and they’re not a doctor.

Perhaps you’re on social media so much that you’re having trouble making time to be with your loved ones in “real life.” One of the best self-care strategies you can use is to take a break from social media. Self-care means honoring your needs. Social media can prompt you to compare yourself to others. It can be a toxic space where people block, unfriend, unfollow, or mute each other when someone is upset.

That’s why taking a social media break can be helpful. Maybe you take a day or two offline, or perhaps it’s a more extended leave of absence from the internet. Self-care means that you analyze your needs and fulfill them as best you can. Social media can be a stressful trigger for mental health. It’s okay to take a short or extended break.

Building Or Creating Something

One excellent self-care activity you can try is creating something by yourself. It could be writing poetry or anything tangible. You could try creating an artistic project or putting together furniture. It depends on what you’re up to doing. It could be as simple as putting together some furniture. Some people enjoy artistic ventures. You might find that making art is a form of self-care for you. It doesn’t have to be extensive.

You could create a collage using newspaper, magazine clippings, a glue stick, and paper. That’s engaging in something creative that gets your brain working. Self-care activities need to fulfill one goal – to make you feel good. Building or creating something is a fantastic way to feel proud of yourself.

You’ve accomplished something at the end of your creative endeavor. You have a product that you can show your friends. Here are some examples of self-care activities you can try that involve building or creating things:

1.     Make a collage with construction paper

2.     Assemble a desk or chair

3.     Create a homemade journal

4.     Bake a cake from scratch

5.     Use modeling clay to create an animal, monster, or object

6.     Paint your mailbox

7.     Use tin foil to create robots

8.     Create homemade soap

9.     Make a wooden box

10. Sew a pillow

These are some examples of self-care activities that involve building or creating things. Feel free to create your own ideas. Making or building something uniquely stimulates the brain.

Join A Support Group

Joining a support group is an excellent way to practice self-care. It’s brave to reach out for help, and that’s what you’re doing when you choose to seek out a community of like-minded people who want to better themselves. It’s not something you may have considered before reading this article.

But attending a group is one of the self-care activities that can bring you closer to people who understand you. A support group is a collection of individuals who share similar problems or struggles. For example, maybe you’re struggling with an eating disorder. Perhaps you are recovering from a substance abuse issue and need to connect with others who are in the same boat. For anything that you’re dealing with, there’s likely a support group that can help. If you’re unsure, you can do some online research and find out.

You might consider going to a support group with individuals who share the same challenges. Some many conditions or circumstances make people feel isolated. That’s where support groups can help. You would necessarily think of them as everyday self-care activities, but they’re great for helping people feel more mentally stable.

Online Therapy And Self-Care

You may not realize it, but online therapy can be a part of a good self-care routine. When you choose to work on your mental health, that’s making a decision to put your wellbeing at the forefront of your priorities. Online counselors know the value of putting yourself first.

If you’re unsure how to practice self-care, who better than a therapist to show you the ropes? It’s a “physical, mental” experience when you see a therapist. You’re working through some challenging emotions, and it may feel as if your mind is doing jumping jacks. The counselors at BetterHelp understand how challenging starting therapy can be.

They want to show you excellent self-care techniques that you can incorporate into a daily routine. Remember, above all else, that self-care isn’t selfish. Work with an online counselor to determine what exercises make you feel good about yourself to better your mental health.

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About the author

Sarah Fader is the CEO and Founder of Eliezer Tristan Publishing Company, where she is dedicated to sharing the words of authors who endure and survive trauma and mental illness. She is also the CEO and Founder of Stigma Fighters, a non-profit organization that encourages individuals with mental illness to share their personal stories. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Quartz, ADAA, Psychology Today, The Huffington Post, HuffPost Live, GoodMenProject, TheMighty, ravishly, YourTango, and Good Day New York.