5 Superb Ways to Practice Self-Care

4 minute read

By HealthVersed

There’s nothing selfish about taking time to relax, recharge, and ready yourself for the future. Prioritizing your well-being is crucial for personal growth. If you’re interested, you can find at-home self-care ideas with a search online right now.

Self-care shouldn’t be a luxury. It’s a necessary practice in our busy lives, offering a variety of options that cater to different needs and preferences. When you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious, try self-care exercises.

Prepare Food Ahead of Time

Having trouble motivating yourself to make healthy meals and snacks during the week when you’re busy, stressed, and tired? Take an hour or two when you have the time and energy to plan and prepare your meals. There’s lots you can do to save time and energy on food prep during the week, like:

You’ll feel much better knowing you have healthy, tasty food packed and ready to go whenever you need it, and you’ll save money and guilt by not having to resort to grabbing a burger and fries when you’re too tired to cook.

Move Your Body

Exercise has proven benefits for both mind and body that go way beyond aesthetics. Making regular exercise a habit can be incredibly therapeutic – but only if you don’t view it as a chore. You don’t have to spend an hour sweating in the gym to enjoy the benefits of exercise. You can get moving by:

Read for Pleasure

Don’t worry about whether or not physical copies of books are “superior” to e-books, or about how someone once told you your favorite genre is vapid and unserious. Read whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want. Expand your mind, take a quick vacation in a fictional world, and don’t apologize for it.

Feel Your Feelings

In the hustle and bustle of your hectic life, you don’t always get the chance to feel your feelings. A lot of the time, you have to be strong and get things done. Don’t underestimate the benefit of taking some time to connect with your emotions.

Cancel Plans

As comedian John Mulaney said, “In terms of instant relief, canceling plans is like heroin.” Obviously, you don’t want to make a habit of canceling plans, but you’ve got to admit, there’s little that feels better than the moment you commit to bailing on an event that was stressing you out.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed and there’s an obligation you can wriggle out of without straining your relationships (say, a house party with lots of attendees and for which you’re not the guest of honor), go for it. Make your apologies, reschedule, and then put your jammies back on, plop down on the couch, and enjoy your fresh, clean, totally unscheduled block of time. Ahh, freedom.

HealthVersed

Contributor