At a park, late one summer night, I asked my best friends what health related topics they thought that post-secondary females would like to read about. I was surprised to learn that self-care was the number one recurring subject. Personally, I admit that learning the importance of proper self-care has changed my life in a very positive way. Some days, all you can do to keep going is to try to take care of yourself despite feeling frustrated,overwhelmed and/or upset. With more and more promotion and awareness online about the importance of mental health, I assumed that everyone was being exposed to knowledge about healthy stress-coping mechanisms. Clearly this information still isn’t widely available to everyone, so I have undertaken the effort to scour the ends of Pinterest for the best ideas and compile THE complete guide to self-care.
These ideas will be grouped under three different categories: physical, mental, and emotional. Physical is pretty straightforward; anything involving physical health and your body will be included here. The mental category focuses on mind related activities and stressors symbolically concentrated in the brain like school or work. Emotional is similar to mental but involves issues that can weigh on your heart such as personal relationships or feelings of sadness.
Physical
- Go for a walk
- Dance
- Swim
- Take a bath
- Drink a glass of water
- Stretch your whole body
- Cook up something healthy
- Try a new workout
- Drink a cup of tea
- Take a nap
- Apply a face mask
- Paint your nails
- Go on the swing at the park
- Give/receive a massage
- Jump on your bed
- Soak in the sun
- Sleep in
- Treat yourself to a fancy dessert
Mental
- Read a book
- Colour
- Turn your electronic devices off
- Clean your room
- Organize your desk
- Watch a documentary
- De-clutter your email inbox
- Make a to-do list
- Move your workplace somewhere else
- Write in a journal
- Donate old clothes
- Do something you’ve been putting off for a while
- Go to a museum solo
- Try something new
- Do a puzzle
- Draw/paint something
- Go on a drive to the opposite side of your city
- Window shop
Emotional
- Meditate
- Talk with a friend
- Make a gratitude list
- Snuggle with a pet
- Create a new morning routine
- Light some candles
- Stargaze
- Cloud watch
- Listen to inspiring music
- Read positive affirmations out loud
- Smell fresh flowers
- Try some breathing exercises
- Indulge in a guilty pleasure
- Watch your favourite movie
- Bake something
- Change your bedsheets
- Look at old photographs
- Pop some bubble wrap
- Have a good cry
- Get dressed up for no reason
- Play in the snow or sprinklers
- Volunteer somewhere
- Watch the sunrise/sunset
This sums up the most popular tips in the self-care domain. Of course, it’s impossible to do all of these things every time that you have a bad day, but you could try a couple things on the list and see if they work for you. Other times, if you really need a break or are stuck in a rut and have no idea what to do, you can always refer back to this list for ideas. If there are any other ideas you feel are important that were not included, please leave them in the comment section below! I would love to read them and I’m sure everyone else would appreciate them too.