How do we live our best life? One of the things I hear from my clients is how incredibly busy and stressed their lives are. Days are packed with work, errands, and helping others. A consistent pattern I see is concern over the future. Working hard today for a better life tomorrow.
It is understandable that we want to achieve our goals and set high standards for ourselves, but part of a better future is living well today.
Self-care is often the first to go when our lives become busy and stress begins to play a larger role in how we live day to day.
What is self-care?
When many people hear the term “self-care” images of spa days and vacations come to mind. But self-care is not something you do a few times year or even once a month. Self care happens every day and is an important factor in your health and overall quality of life.
The Word Health Organization defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote, maintain health, prevent disease and to cope with illness with or without the support of a health care provider.”
Promoting and maintaining health is as much mental and emotional as it is physical. In addition to eating well and exercising, we also need to incorporate mental and emotional self-care into our schedule every single day. What makes us feel happy in the morning? What can we look forward to each evening?
Self-care is a little different for all of us, below are a few tips on how to incorporate self-care throughout out your day:
In the morning
- Take time to enjoy a healthy breakfast and relaxation time before you rush out the door
- Do something creative
- Use positive language and self talk
During the day
- Take care of the simple tasks first
- Pace yourself and set realistic goals
- Delegate when you can
In the evening
- Reflect on the good things that happened during the day
- Take time to do something enjoyable just for you
- Go to bed early enough to allow yourself plenty of sleep
Things to remember
- Make time for friends and family
- Schedule days off
- Make time to see a therapist
Self care decreases stress and lets us know that in addition to everyone and everything else, we also deserve to be treated with care. With this attitude, we have a much better chance of enjoying the journey of our lives rather than focusing all our attention on the demands of others and our own future.
If you are having difficulty and dealing with chronic stress you are welcome to call and schedule your first appointment or fill out my contact form and click send.