It’s Self Care Week, a campaign promoted by the NHS Self Care Forum with the aim of promoting an awareness of how to take care of yourself physically and mentally. It simply means taking the time to be kind and considerate towards yourself, and should be considered in no way selfish. As you probably know, there are many ways to treat your self: by getting enough sleep, taking regular walks, and spending time with friends amongst other things. However, my personal number one tip for self care is to always attempt to try something new.
Pushing yourself in new directions and leaving your comfort zone can be scary at first, but there’s no doubt that it will enrich your day to day life. I recently joined an acting class for the first time, and before that I tried underwater hockey for the first time. On both occasions I was seriously so glad that I did it, so I can’t recommend it more.
Here is my list of a few new things you could try this week:
1. Visit an area in your town/city that you haven’t explored before. Whether it’s out in the countryside or an unfamiliar part of the city, when you take a walk with no destination in mind you’ll be surprised at how many new places there are that are yet to be discovered!
2. Sign up for a new hobby class. If you commit to a class or club, you’re more likely to stick with your new hobby. You could try ceramics, writing, dancing, sports – literally anything!
3. Learn a new skill. It only takes a google search and a few hours to get started! How much more rewarding would learning a new skill be compared to binge watching something on netflix? You could try sewing, cooking, languages, making a youtube video, etc. You never know, that skill could turn into a hobby!
4. Do something that you wouldn’t normally do alone. Just being with yourself, and not at home, will be so refreshing. You decide what you do, and you don’t have to worry about what the other person enjoys. Consider going to the cinema, having a meal in a cafe or a restuarant, or travelling alone somewhere.
5. Volunteer for something. Whether its for the local wildlife trust or charity shop, volunteering is a great way of giving back to the community. It also gives you the satisfaction of having helped a person in need somewhere down the line.
6. Listen to a new genre of music. This is one that you could do right now as you’re reading this! Just open up a new tab and search for some completely new music. It’s easy to search by genre: how about some jazz, big band music, or international music? You may find a new favourite song!
7. Try new foods. Ever tried Vietnamese cuisine? African? Japanese? Vegan food? Well now’s the time to try!
8. Listen to a lecture from a course different to your own. If you have the time and energy to go to more lectures than are actually required of you, you definitely should take the opportunity to find out more about a different subject. It would be interesting to experience university from another students perspective, so if you’re a humanities student maybe attend a science lecture (and vice versa).
9. Face your fears. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous today, there’s nothing stopping you from doing the thing that you’ve always wanted to do but have never had the courage. Overcoming your fears either physically or mentally is easier said than done, but you really have to just bite the bullet and go for it. What’s the worst that could happen?
10. Connect with someone who you don’t usually talk to. Or maybe even re-connect with someone who you haven’t talked to in a long time. Maybe you know someone that you would like to become friends with, or a person you’ve lost contact with? Lets be real, who doesn’t like having friends? You don’t have to wait for an excuse to reach out to someone either, take action and go and speak to them. I’m sure you won’t regret it.
After trying something new, you could find out you totally love it, or on the flipside realise it’s not really for you. Either way, you did it. That in itself is a positive result.