Guest Post by The Sunshine Suitcase Blog
Do you sometimes feel like you’re running on empty? In our busy everyday lives we can often forget to take time to slow things down and focus on ourselves. Having a fantastic self care routine is a great way to improve your mental health, reduce stress, and recharge your mind and body. These eight self care ideas are sure to improve your week starting now!
What is Self Care?
Self Care is the act of caring for yourself, which can happen in so many different ways. Self care routines that cover a few different categories are the best way to add balance to your life.
These five self care categories (and examples) will help you to rebalance, destress and improve your daily life. By picking and choosing what you need in the moment you can also keep your self care routine flexible.
Physical Self Care: self care that focuses on your physical body and wellness.
- Eat a Well Balanced Diet
- Pampering/Grooming/Skin care
- Exercise
- Hydration
Emotional Self Care: self care that focuses on your feelings and emotions.
- Personal Affirmations
- Going to Therapy
- Expressing Gratitude
Mental Self Care: self care that focuses on growing and activating your intellect.
- Learn Something New
- Listen to a Podcast
- Read a Book
Spiritual Self Care: self care that focuses on improving your spirituality.
- Meditation
- Tarot/Oracle Cards
- Go to Church/Temple
Social Self Care: self care that nurtures our social instincts by helping us build strong and healthy relationships.
- Catch up with a family member
- Meet a Friend for Coffee
- Have a Girl’s Night
Taking just 5-10 minutes to practice self-care every day is a great first step in helping to replenish your energy and improve your mood and life. There aren’t a lot of rules on how to practice self care. And the reason is; your Self Care is unique to you.
8 Self Care Ideas to Improve Your Week
1. Go to bed early tonight-
Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night to rejuvenate your brain and help your body and brain rest. If it’s difficult to get enough sleep or you feel your body or brain really lagging in the afternoon take a short nap. Getting enough sleep is a big factor in stress reduction, immune boosting and mood stabilization.
2. Create a Calming Environment-
Often we get bogged down by the messes in our lives. Start with one small self-care cleaning task. Something that doesn’t need to be done daily but that you stress over. Such as decluttering your makeup stash and reorganizing it. Or sorting and throwing out any junk mail that’s piling up.
When the space we are in reflects chaos, it can reflect back on our thought patterns. Decluttering, washing your linens, opening the blinds or windows, and cleaning your air filter are all ways to improve your space. You could also paint the walls of your space a calming color that resonates with you. Or you could add a warm blanket or cool rug to your space for a cozy vibe.
3. Use Essential Oils to relax-
Essential Oils are concentrated oils from plants with potent healing properties. By diffusing essential oils in your space you can release an aromatherapy experience. This provides you with the healing properties of essential oils as well as their great scent!
Great Essential Oils for Self Care:
- Lavender- For Calming
- Peppermint- For Focus and Headaches
- Lemon- For Uplifting Moods
- Rose- For Self Love
- Cedarwood- For Grounding
4. Practice Gratitude Daily-
Practicing gratitude is a fantastic mindfulness technique that increases overall well being and satisfaction with your life. Taking time each day to be thankful helps us to focus on the positive while allowing us to process the negative through a different lens.
Showing gratitude can be as easy as adding a sentence or two to your journal about what you’re thankful for. Keep track of what you’re thankful for and don’t forget to review it periodically as a reminder for all the good in your life.
5. Get ready for some girl talk!
Facetime a good friend who you haven’t seen in awhile. Catch up and connect with them like you would if they were at your house having a cup of coffee (pre-pandemic style). If you’re having a hard time connecting with an old friend try discussing a new book or T.V. show you’re loving right now!
6. Read a book!
Reading is a fantastic self care idea! Reading is entertaining, enlightening, and helps reduce stress. Whether you’re a fiction or nonfiction fan it doesn’t matter. Choose a book that’s new to you and dive right in! Read for 10 minutes a day this week and enjoy instant benefits. Reading a good book right before bed can help you to fall asleep faster too!
7. Get Outside Daily-
Vitamin D and fresh air are known for improving mood, reducing stress and improving overall satisfaction in life. Getting outside for 20 minutes is enough to rejuvenate your mind and body. Go for a walk, enjoy your coffee on the patio, sit in the sunshine on your porch. You don’t have to go far or do much to enjoy the benefits of fresh air.
8. Journaling for Self Care-
Writing helps you to clarify your thoughts, problem solve and boost your mood. Journaling as an act of self-care can help you to work through and with your emotions rather than push them away. Journaling reduces stress because it clears a lot of mental clutter from our minds.
If you’re new to journaling or feeling like you want to reconnect with your journal, journal prompts can be a huge help!
Try these Journal Prompts for Self Care-
- Write a Love Letter to Yourself
- What is a goal you have set recently but haven’t achieved? What is holding you back from accomplishing this goal?
- I forgive myself for…
- What is something you need to let go of?
- I feel safe when…
Developing a great self care routine can take time. But, by adding small moments of joy to your week using these self care ideas you can take baby steps toward your personal growth each day. What self care idea resonates with you the most? Let us know in the comments below.
Summer Grinwis is a self care and lifestyle blogger who resides in sunny Oahu, Hawaii. Summer is a mental health advocate who has a serious passion for social media. When she’s not spending copious amounts of time on the ‘gram you might find her swimming in the Pacific Ocean or journaling in her hammock outside. Check out her blog here: The Sunshine Suitcase Blog
Plot Twist, Please! 