Realistic Self Care
Life is exhausting. Your typical person works a 40 hour work week, on top of all the parts of life you have to do like grocery shop, cook for yourself, and clean your house. Some of us also have kids and or pets we take care of, partners and friends who need our attention and time, family to check up on, it can feel like it never stops. After a hard day, or really any day, it’s normal to want to come home, put on pajamas, and not move off the couch until it’s time for bed. But this cycle can wear us down and not taking time for yourself can have a negative effect on our mental and physical health. This is why self care is so important, and we don’t mean the made for social media self care of an expensive evening of a workout class, takeout, and skincare. We mean self care for your average person, who’s just looking for a way to wind-down after making it through their day. So today we’re talking about a few different self care activities you can do with things that you already have at home, perfect for a planned or impromptu self care evening.
1. Move your body
Look, we get it, after a hard day at work that last thing you may want to do is exercise. But keeping active is huge and keeping both mental and physical health in check. We’re not saying get home and go for a five mile run, but move your body in some way. This could be going for a walk around your neighborhood, following along to a YouTube yoga video, or even just putting on your favorite music and dancing around your house! All movement is good movement and you’ll feel great after.
2. Pamper Yourself
If there's something you like to do to make yourself feel your best but you don’t always have the time to do it, make time for it as an act of self care. This can be anything like painting your nails, doing a face or hair mask, practicing a new hairstyle, whatever makes you feel good that you don’t necessarily get to do on a daily basis. Helping yourself feel good on the outside can benefit how you feel inside as well. It feels good to do something for yourself just because you want to, not because you need to.
3. Consume Some Comfort Content
Putting on your favorite TV show or movie or picking up your favorite book after a long day is a great way to decompress. There’s something about the familiarity of something you’ve already seen or read that helps you relax in a different way than consuming new content does. It’s likely that these forms of media also have memories attached to them, and it can be nice to reflect on those while watching something that you already know brings you joy.
4. Call or Spend Time with Friends or Family
If you have a friend or family member who takes no effort or social battery to be around or talk to on the phone, they’re probably a great way to engage in some self care. By calling or inviting them over, you’re still getting social interaction with someone you love without the draining aspects that can happen in larger social gatherings or by going out and doing an activity with them. Spending time with people you love who make you feel at ease is a great way to unwind with others.
5. Use Something You’ve Been Saving
Most of us probably have an expensive candle, a nice bottle of wine, or something of that nature we’re saving for some unidentified occasion. But why? Use the candle. Drink the wine. Life is for the living, treat yourself to something you’ve been saving for no reason. You bought the item to enjoy, so do it! You might be surprised to see how freeing it can be to use or consume something you’ve put some much unnecessary weight on.
These suggestions can be amazing ways to engage in some self care at home, but there are other places where it can exist. Going to therapy is an example of self care that happens outside the home, and we want to help you explore this. Book your free consultation today and see how we can help you!