During midterm season, it is vital to practice some form of self-care. By knowing your love language, you can optimize your wellness routine with treatments that make you feel the most appreciated.
Dr. Gary Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate, defines love languages as the different ways that people feel loved by others. They consist of physical touch, quality time, acts of service, receiving gifts, and words of affirmation. You can take this quiz to find out your love language and determine the most effective stress relievers for you. The following compilation of proposed self-care activities draws inspiration from The Five Love Languages: How to Care for Yourself Using Your Own Love Language.
Physical Touch: A good destresser for those who feel loved by physical touch would be donning soft, comfortable clothing or wrapping yourself in a blanket. If you have loved ones or a pet at your disposal, cuddling can help put you at ease. A warm bath, scented lotion or perfume, self-grooming, and massages can also serve as potential de-stressors.
Quality Time: Some self-care options that involve spending quality time with yourself could include meditating, listening to music, reading a book, or creating artwork. I personally enjoy and recommend creating new outfits with random pieces in your closet or spontaneously bursting into song and dance. Overall, any activity that nourishes your well-being fits into the category of quality time.
Acts of Service: For those of us who feel loved by acts of service, you can destress by doing small tasks to improve your daily life. If organization is a priority for you, tidying your workspace or creating and editing a weekly schedule are effective practices within this form of self-care. For improving your health, some tasks could include exercising, meal prepping, soaking in some sun, or even seeing a therapist if you are able.
Receiving Gifts: Treat yo’ self. You have spent all day studying and surely deserve a quick snack and nap. Self-gifting does not always have to involve spending money. One free activity you can do is curating a new music playlist for yourself. My personal favorite self-gift is upcycling an old article of clothing. However, if you have some extra cash, you can buy an item that supplements your hobbies. For instance, those of us with a green thumb could purchase a new plant mister.
Words of Affirmation: During the stressful time of preparing for midterms, it can be quite hard to feel confident in your studies. A proactive way to combat these plummets in self-confidence is the use of words of affirmation. Journaling is one way to practice using positive self-affirmations. Document some accomplishments from these past few weeks that have made you proud. You can even jot down what you love the most about yourself in the form of love letters.
Feel free to mix and match these self-care options based on how the quiz ranked the love languages for you. Happy destressing and good luck with your midterms!