The Importance of Self-Care
Self-care is not something I’m good at in the sense that I can’t say no to people, I’m a giver by nature. However, I’ve come to learn that self-care is just as vital as caring for others because you can’t care for others if your cup is empty. I have a habit of helping others until I have nothing to give and I keep helping even after that, as a result, I feel drained beyond compare to the point that I can’t even help myself. With all this being said I wanted to give a shortlist of things you can do to help yourself and refill your cup so you can continue filling others.
- Do something you enjoy by yourself, play your favorite game, take a stroll, whatever you enjoy doing, do it and take some time to be alone and refuel without any distraction.
- Let others help you, there is nothing wrong with asking to receive back what you give to people. Let them tend to you to the best of their ability for a change and understand what it feels like to be the one being looked after. This will also help you feel better when you help others because you understand first hand how they feel, ideally speaking.
- Have a good stretch, stretching when I’m tired or stressed is something I’ve found to be very stress relieving and rejuvenating. It doesn’t need to be a full-on yoga session, just stretch your arms and legs, clench your fists and jaw and release, things like that.
- Take some time to ground yourself, make yourself aware of your surroundings. A good grounding technique is finding 5 things around you and describing them in as much detail as you can in your head. Walking barefoot, holding something in your hands, focusing on a single object and doing “hands-on” activities are also great ways to ground.
- Last but not least, get proper sleep. Our bodies simply weren’t made to run on a completely empty, rest is a vital part of keeping yourself healthy physically and mentally.
Photo by Tatiana Stec
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