Self-care refers to taking care of your own mental and physical health, and it is an extremely important tool to utilize. Coping with challenges in life, helping others, and achieving your goals is much easier when you are able to take care of yourself first. To learn more about self-care, click here. Practicing self-care can be as simple as preparing a meal that you love, bathing, or taking a rest to recharge. Here are some simple physical, mental and emotional ways to practice self-care:
Physical Self-Care Techniques
1. Be physically active in a way that you enjoy, such as by going for a bike ride, dancing, playing a sport, or going for a walk or run.
2. Challenge yourself to drink more water.
3. Go explore someplace new and exciting.
4. Do deep breathing exercises (click here to find some exercises).
5. Take a relaxing shower or bath.
6. Stretch your muscles out or do yoga.
7. Do an activity that you enjoy, like going to your favourite restaurant, getting a massage or going camping.
8. Get outside and enjoy the outdoors.
9. Take a nap or rest in some other way.
10. Cook a new, exciting recipe, or just eat something you enjoy eating.
11. Light your favourite candle and enjoy the smell of it.
12. Listen to music that you love.
13. De-clutter a space by getting rid of things that you don't need or use.
14. Colour a colouring book (or print out a colouring page to colour).
15. Ensure that you are getting enough sleep each night.
Mental and Emotional Self-Care Techniques
16. Read a good book and allow yourself to get lost in it.
17. Learn about something new, like some topic that you find interesting or an activity that you want to learn how to do.
18. Practice setting boundaries and saying no to people and things, and asking for help when you need it.
19. Define some short-term and long-term goals you have.
20. Turn off your phone or take a break from social media.
21. Make a plan for the future that you can look forward to.
22. Practice meditation (click here for some meditation exercises).
23. Make a list of the positive experiences you've had recently, of things that you're thankful for or of things you love about yourself.
24. Find a safe and appropriate space to let all of your emotions out.
25. Reach out to a friend or spend time with your loved ones.
26. Start a journal to write down your thoughts and feelings.
27. Repeat positive affirmations to yourself (click here for some examples of positive affirmations).
28. Find a therapist or other professional to help support your healing (to find resources, click here.)
29. Write positive notes to yourself to read when you're feeling down.
30. Pay it forward by doing something nice for someone else.
