The concept of self-care refers to taking care of yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. Above maintaing a healthy diet and getting ample rest, self-care goes beyond the basics and involves activities that have a significant, positive impact on our mental health as well.
Self-care is a general term that describes everything you do deliberately for your mental, physical and emotional well-being.
Self-care techniques can help in building resilience toward stressors in life. Focusing on incorporating self-care rituals into your life requires self awareness and practicing self-awareness can help you recognize patterns in your emotions, including situations that can trigger worsened symptoms.
How To Practice Self-Care
Know your needs
List down different parts of your life and major activities that you engage in each day. Segment your responsibilities into categories and be specific about what needs to be done. For example, if you have familial obligations on top of work obligations, how would you be able to work around them to ensure that you still have time for yourself? It can be as simple as switching off your work phone after 8pm or dedicating half an hour of the day to yourself.
What are your stressors
Think about the aspects of these areas that cause stress. Knowing what stresses out can be incredibly useful because we will not be caught off guard. Additional steps can be then taken to help mitigate such stressors.
Consider self-care strategies
Think about some activities that you enjoy and things you do not enjoy. For example, spending time with friendsis fun, but if that can be too much for you, you need to consider developing boundaries
Take small steps
You don’t have to tackle everything all at once. Identify one small step you can take to begin caring for yourself better.
Schedule time to focus on your needs
Even when you feel like you don’t have time to squeeze in one more thing, make self-care a priority. When you’re caring for all aspects of yourself, you’ll find that you are able to operate more effectively and efficiently.
2-4-6-8 Method
Sometimes life can get overwhelming and having to factor in 1 hour of yoga may unintentionally add more stress because it becomes another “task to do”. If you do feel overwhelmed, here is an even simpler structure to follow so that your baseline requirements are taken care of without having to put too much mental energy towards them.
When things get too much, just remember these 4 steps.
- 2L water
- 4 deep breaths (hourly)
- 6 small meals
- 8hours of sleep
And that’s it! These habits are easy to add into your life but can make a great change. Did you know that a part of maintaining your mental health involves speaking to people about the challenges you have? Counselling can be an incredibly useful tool to help you be more self-aware to optimise your quality of life. If you find yourself looking for someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We will always be happy to help. 😊
