11 Easy Ways to Make Self-Care a Priority
The Importance of Self-Care
Given today’s busy and hectic schedules, we really need to make self care a priority. With work, caring for kids, taking our kids to their after school activities and the endless other responsibilities, life can become overwhelming.
For us busy moms who have a tendency to put our kid’s needs first, taking time for self-care may bring up feelings of guilt.
However, we must learn to sit with these feelings and realize that we are not at our best when we are exhausted.
Here are some simple things you can do every day to make self-care a priority:
Before you get out of bed, practice some deep breathing exercises while stretching.
Make a little time to go outside and be in nature.
Call a friend.
Make time to exercise and be realistic with your time. If you cannot go to the gym, try doing some exercise at home like doing push-ups, walking up and down the stairs, doing some yoga poses and stretches or going for a walk.
Take 5 minute breaks throughout the day and practice mindful breathing. You can repeat a word like “breath” to quiet your mind while breathing.
Eat healthy snacks throughout the day and drink plenty of water.
Journal for 10 minutes a day, ideally in the morning or afternoon so that you don’t avoid or repress feelings.
Meditate once a day for 10 minutes.
Have realistic expectations of yourself.
Spend quality time with your loved ones with an emphasis of just being together, rather than an emphasis on what needs to get done.
Make time to decompress at night, ideally alone, to help your mind and body prepare for sleep.
Ironically, it can initially be stressful to figure out a self-care routine but just take things one step at a time. Pick one strategy to start, whichever one sounds like the easiest for you to implement immediately.
Lastly, another great self-care technique is psychotherapy! If you need a place where someone else is in charge of providing the environment for you to decompress, please contact me today to get started.