Sometimes, it becomes challenging to suppress our negative emotions and ideas at the end of a busy day. It is easy to bring stress home after a long day at work, a quarrel with a buddy, or whatever else may have made you feel depressed. Hence, it is necessary to check in with yourself and give your mind a chance to reset.

With the help of a mental break, you can better manage your stress and prevent it from lingering into the next day. But when we hear about mindfulness, there might be many questions that come into our minds, like will this work for me? How to practice self love and self care? But the truth is that self-care does not equate to selfishness or self-indulgence. To stay healthy, well perform your job, assist, and care for others, and complete all the tasks you need and desire to complete in a day, you must practise self-care.

Is it necessary to practice self-care?

Absolutely, taking care of yourself is very important. We all understand the benefits of self-care for our mental health, yet practising self-care isn’t always easy because most of us are extremely busy, under stress at work, or too engrossed in technology to make time for ourselves.  

But how to practice self-care? 

Many self-care tips will help you to take care of yourself: –

• Get Regular Exercise / Moving your body

We all know exercising is healthy, but do we truly understand how helpful it is? Daily exercise can benefit your physical and mental health, improve your mood, lower your stress and anxiety levels, and help you lose weight.

Of course, going to the gym every day could be challenging. Instead, try including activities into your routine that might be easier to fit into your schedule like walking, tennis, or yoga. The most crucial step is to establish a schedule that works for you.

• Eat healthily and stay hydrated

Everyone has a very special relationship with food. The food we consume can either keep us healthy or contribute to disorders like diabetes or weight gain, but it can also keep our thoughts active and attentive.

• Make sleep a priority

Sleep is one of the essential things that people today disregard, even though it has a significant impact on our physical and mental health. We are aware that we will be unable to work well the following day if we don’t get a good sleep. Still, people prioritise their work over their sleeping. Even serious health problems can result from not getting enough sleep.

How do you include sleep in your self-care routine?

Following a schedule and making sure you get adequate sleep are good places to start. Reducing blue light exposure from your phone or computer before bed will help you sleep better.

• Your psychological health is strongly influenced by how you may think and what you let into your head. You can discover that inspiring books or films give your mental energy. Taking care of your mental health is another aspect of mental health self-care.
• It’s crucial to have effective coping mechanisms to handle unpleasant emotions like anger, anxiety, and grief. It is also crucial to integrate emotional self-care into your life, whether it means talking to a partner or close friend about how you’re feeling or making time for leisure activities that help you process your feelings.
• It can be easy to take oneself too seriously while trying to better yourself and avoid taking time to relax and enjoy life. Nobody is constantly engaged, focused, and productive. However, being motivated or productive is considerably more difficult when you’re depressed. Never be afraid to treat yourself to a relaxing evening at home when you binge-watch Netflix and order a treatif you’re ever feeling worn out, stressed out, or just need a break. It can be simpler to sustain good behaviours over time when you indulge in your bad habits sometimes.
• Warm baths are great for relaxing. Research indicates that they might also improve your physical and emotional health. In a 2018 study, researchers evaluated the effects of a 10-minute shower or bath on several health parameters. They found that taking bath results in a higher decrease in fatigue, stress, and discomfort compared to showering. Furthermore, they found that compared to showerers, bathers experienced reduced degrees of tension-anxiety, anger-hostility, and depression. And the next time you’re feeling a little stressed, overwhelmed, or need extra relaxation, run a warm bath.

Engaging in a self care routine has been clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and stress and helps to boost happiness, energy, and attention. Clinical studies have demonstrated that in terms of physical health, self-care reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Spiritually, it may help keep us in tune with our higher power and realize our meaning in life. 

Love begins with oneself. Thus, prioritizing yourself is important.