In today’s fast paced world of mountains of chores and work, it’s no wonder that many of us feel stressed out and close to breaking down each and every day. Whether its home life or work life, the demands can stress out even the most efficient people. For that reason, self-care is required more than ever in order to refresh your mind after it has been through the wringer. Check it out!
Do A Few Affirmations
It may seem like a bogus method, but affirmations in your daily life can heal your mind and remove any trace of worry you may have. The sentences don’t have to be complicated and even simple statements can have an effect on you. This method is especially useful for increased self-confidence and positivity, as you will be saying nice things to yourself where you usually wouldn’t.
Choose a suitable statement each day and take 5 minutes to say it out slowly loud to yourself 10 times. Try to really focus on the statement without arguing against it in your mind.
Accept A Compliment
A compliment is something unexpected but can majorly go a long way in improving your sense of self-confidence. It can also show you how you truly feel about good things that are said about you. Every time you reject a compliment, most likely you are filling your head with excuses, negative thoughts and perhaps negative feelings. Which is why accepting the compliment and saying an earnest ‘thank you’ is a form of self-love.
Practice Mindfulness
Other than the techniques mentioned above, practicing mindfulness can help calm your mind. Research has even shown that practicing mindfulness improves mental health, lowering stress levels and producing positive emotions.
Schedule in time each day to connect with your mind, your body, and your surroundings. You will start to develop a sense of gratitude and calm, which can greatly improve how you see yourself and your day.
Write A Gratitude Journal
Gratitude is not about being happy for everything and every moment of your life. It’s about finding what makes you grateful/happy/thankful/appreciative for each day. There will always be a day in your life which makes you feel stressful and crappy, but making yourself name ONE thing that makes you grateful can help lighten your mood. Purchase any journal that catches your eye, then take 5-10 minutes each day to reflect.
Moisturize Your Hands
Moisturizing may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking ‘self-care’ for it is such a common thing to do, yet doing it can trigger different senses from smell, touch to sight. Therefore, moisturizing your hands can be one of the ways to calm your senses.
Pick your favorite scent of hand cream and take 5 minutes to slowly massage it into your hands, close your eyes and breathe it in. Your stress will eventually fade away with every minute you massage your hands.
When anxious or stressed, the human body does not only feel it in the brain but your muscles will also carry the tension. This is because the brain and the body have a very symbiotic relationship. When one person feels anxious, the body will tighten as a fight-or-flight response. Similarly, a tense body signifies to your brain that there is something to be concerned about so it goes into red alert mode.
Ease yourself of the tension in your mind by stretching out your muscles and joints. Letting go of any tension your body feels will make your brain follow suit.
Engage in Your Guilty Pleasure
Despite being embarrassing to admit, everyone has a guilty pleasure. It may be your choice of movies, music, or reading your favorite romance novel in your free time, but doing these things can relieve your stress. Don’t let the judgement of others stop you from doing the things that make you happy. Life’s too short to be so serious all the time.
Create a Spa Day
A spa may not seem possible when you have a busy schedule ahead of you, but even 10 minutes is enough to relax your nerves. Turn your shower into a full-on spa by hanging eucalyptus from the showerhead. Steam from the shower will release the essential oils for a soothing and uplifting rinse. You can even apply a face mask while you are shampooing and soaping up. Otherwise apply a hair mask for soft, smooth hair.
Reach Out To A Loved One
Reaching out to a loved one is also a form of self-care as you will be able to relieve your stress. It’s as simple as texting a far-flung friend that you’re thinking of her, and asking quick questions that she’ll be able to reply to instantly. Simple questions like “What’s for dinner?” or “What was the funniest thing that happened to you today?” will get the conversation going without all the pressure to fully catch up right this minute.
Try Earthing
Earthing is a movement based on the discovery that you connecting to the earth will benefit your health. Scientific evidence backs up the concept of earthing, as our bodies experience positive effects while interact with the earth’s electrons (several small studies show it reduces blood pressure and helps with insomnia).
For 10 minutes, you can get a quick hit of feel-good vibes in several ways including walking barefoot in the park, slipping off your hiking boots in the woods, or connect by simply touching the dirt.
These days, people are more inclined to scroll their Instagram feed rather than read books during their free time. Instead of doing that, why not start reading a few pages of that novel you intend to read? You will be getting more health benefits from reading like reducing stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate, fights depression symptoms and prevents cognitive decline as you age among a few. It is also a form of active relaxation as it lets the mind focus on one single task, similar to meditation.
Have you tried any of the tips above? Do you have any other tips? Tell us in the comment section below!
