Tips For Better Self Care
Introduction
Taking good care of your own self during these trying times of COVID-19, has become a matter of utmost importance. Many of us have dived headfirst into a pool of ignorance and have completely forgotten about the things that matter the most, i.e. all those things that we contain within ourselves. Take a look here and get creative with all that can be done, for better self-care, amidst this never-ending lockdown.
“It is not what is desirable that changes your destiny. It is what you have that does.”
Keeping in line with this notion, we have compiled for you a list of ‘what’s which may help you navigate better if you try and decipher their answers.
FIRST: What There Is:-
It is only reasonable, to begin with, what you already have, what you like, and what you need. What can be better than bringing some orderliness in what you have on your palette already? Streamlining your thoughts and actions around the following 5 points may help you bring about the change you have always been looking for:
- Anxiety management: The most common problem we, as adults, face these days is the loop of anxiety we are never really out of. It is what stands as the first obstacle in our way of self-care and love. Getting rid of anxiety, no matter how difficult, will all be worth it at the end of the day. If you are not sure how to do it alone, don’t worry, we are here for you. Check out this article on mental wellness and what we advise for an anxiety release.
- Productivity: Another great object of focus right now is your work/hobby/interest that you deal with on a regular basis, these days. If we want to streamline our present matters, we need to have a better look at the elephant in the room. Getting productive in this lockdown is not as hard as you may think. Even amidst constant fear and paranoia, if you put up goodwill, you will definitely find a way to get by all of it. Everything may not be accomplished right now but a lot of it maybe. Just put everything in a routine, make sure you follow it, establish a reward system, and just be patient about everything. As it is well said by Shiv Khera, ” You can be more if you live by design not by default.” Mix it in a routine and feel the power and love rise from within you.
- Family time: “When all the dust is settled and all the crowds are gone, the things that really matter are faith, family, and friends.” In the running life you are generally stuck in, you barely ever have time for any of these three. Now that you have more time, what should be the best thing you deserve? The love of your family. No family is perfect but they sure will love you unconditionally. Go for some more family time and you will definitely be able to unlock the next level of peace, harmony, and even self-love.
- Screen time management: With everything going online recently, it may be a bit tougher for you to resist the screen because of its uncompromising necessity in nearly every task you perform every day. Even so, AstoCare advises against a mismanaged and uncontrolled screen time. Apart from laying more strain on your eyes, neck and even spine, it hampers your sleep cycle, eating schedule, and even the social timetable. Be the master of your own devices and you will definitely see the difference.
- Better information: Nothing is worse than being misinformed. Rumors and fake news can take a severe toll on your psychological as well as physical capacity, even for the most trivial of things you encounter every day. Not just wrong information but incomplete data and/or too much of what you need to know can be a disaster for you and your state of mental peace.
AstoCare believes that picking a good, well contained, and trustworthy source of news is a major upgrade, even for your general self-care routine.
AND THEN: What There Should Be.
Apart from what you already have on your plate, it may be even better to make some space for things you must add to it in order to make the salad a little better, more joyous, and fitter, to say the least.
- Fitness: As well said by Mahatma Gandhi, “It is health that is real wealth, and not pieces of gold and silver.” Staying fit, flexible, and active is everybody’s dream. Well, now is the time to make that dream a reality. Set up a fitness routine and achieve those goals you have always wished for. Try starting small, like simple 5-10 minutes workouts online, and build up to 30 minutes exercise at least thrice a week. Trust us, it is much easier than it sounds!
- Order: Whenever in doubt, confusion or in stress, the best thing to distract yourself and start fresh a few minutes later with whatever you were trying to decipher before, is to start bringing orderliness in things around you. Try setting a 10 minutes timer and start cleaning/reorganizing your closet/drawer/Almera/desk etc. Just go for anything that you have been putting off for a while! Try this trick once and see the difference!
- Ability: Even if getting an XRay vision or the power to fly in the sky like some superhero, is not a possibility, there is another way to feel much better about yourself and pretty much everything else. AstoCare advises you to try expanding your scope and learning a new skill/art/sport while you are under lockdown. It may not happen in a day but once you acquire something new in you, you will automatically feel much better and somewhat a little proud of yourself of being better able than before.
- Simplicity: The biggest setback anyone may face, while on the journey of self-love and care, is the problem of complexity. Even if it is not something you deal with on a regular basis, complicatedness and complexity, even in the most minute of objects, can be troublesome for your and your mental peace.Try decluttering and simplifying the mess there is in your sight. Then try scavenging for things that you abhor or make you put in more effort than it’s worth. You will feel the change almost immediately!
After all, “Less is more.”
- Mindfulness: Other than having your head in the game and being forever in your zone, it may be so that there remains some kind of stress that comes from the disorder within yourself. In order to eradicate the menace inside, try meditating for about 15 minutes before/after sleep, every day.
Trying to lose control of your body and gaining control of your mind, will change your perception definitely for the better. Furthermore, putting a little stop to the mega-metro train of thoughts that gush inside your head, will help your mind relax and restart, for a change.
- Rest: One of the only things that we tend to forget almost every time, is to take some rest! Rest is the most important of all things when it comes to taking good care of yourself. You may not have it on your schedule but it really needs to be there.
Without ample rest, you won’t ever be able to achieve anything you wish to achieve, even if it is self-love and care. So, in order to master the art of self-care, ample rest of around 7-9 hours daily is required, without fail.
All the above mentioned are certain ‘must-haves’ that you should definitely try, in order to have a better grip on self-care and love.
FINALLY: What More There Could Be
This part is specially dedicated to those who believe in getting what they really want, along with everything in the way! If you are looking for a real deal when it comes to self-care, try the following and feel the scintillating sensation down your spine almost instantly:
- Cooking: “Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” Food is what brings us closer. Preparing the same food is like bringing into the universe a bond of trust, something for the better for everyone. The kind of peace and enjoyment this preparation brings to us cannot be compared with anything else.
Cooking is an art of serenity. You may not catch it the first few times but it is the most calming experience once you get the hang of it. Try cooking for self-love and let it help you manage the spices in your life!
- Gardening: It may sound a little overrated but spending time in nature’s arms is the best way to bring love inside of you. Therapists often suggest sitting in a veranda/balcony full of potted plants or so and just breathing in the fresh air in, for the same. There are many organizations that even promote gardening for stress management.
Why not give it a shot? You might actually end up liking it.
- Skin Care: The best way to love yourself is to actually show it sometime.n Try taking good care of yourself as if you are your own baby!
Try exfoliating your skin, massaging yourself with a face pack, and giving yourself a nice foot scrub every week. You may even mix it up by taking care of yourself almost daily, with a moisturizing routine for your body, using a good body lotion, and an oiling session for your scalp, with natural oils, before washing them.
If you show your body how much you care for it, there will definitely come a giant wave of self-love following it!
- Innovation: Getting innovative with self-love is the best part of the entire process. Here is what all you can do:
- Read a new book.
- Try some light/heavy comedy shows.
- Pick up a new hobby.
- Feed a stray.
- Try green tea for a change.
- Pickup on a long lost interest.
- Reconnect with an old friend.
- Try adding yoga to your workout.
- Listen to a different kind of music.
- Pickup on writing.
- Anything you feel like doing.
Don’t let things go dusty at all. Stop lingering around and just do what you feel like doing, there and then! After all, if not now, then when?
Conclusion
The above-mentioned tips will definitely help you a great deal if you follow them properly while focussing on self-care and mental wellness at the same time. We know all this can be a little too much to put into a meager 24-hour day. But you don’t have to do all of it in a single day! Just even it out over a period of time and reach a state of near nirvana this summer, all on your own, and of course us by your side.
We care for you.
Want more? Try this other article on mental wellness during the lockdown MENTAL WELLNESS and dive headfirst into what matters most.
Looking for medical assistance? LIVE CHAT with us at www.AstoCare.com or write to us at hello@astocare.com.