Self-Care is Important for Everyone: Perfect Ways to Prioritize Self-Care
At Wholesome Culture, we love celebrating self care. And while getting in peak physical shape is a hot talking point this time of year, we want to highlight activities to help everyone get their mental health in tip top shape this summer too.
More people than ever are seeking treatment and are beginning to live with more understanding of their mental state. It is so important to have a deep understanding of your mental health and prioritize activities that help keep you mentally strong and happy. One huge way that folks can keep that trend moving is by practicing meaningful self-care.
So, with that in mind, we’d like to help everyone practice self care with a few simple suggestions.
Take a hike!
Every link on Google will tell you a great way to boost mood and ease symptoms of anxiety and depression is to go outside and exercise. We’d like to advocate for a step further by exploring the great outdoors.
Hiking is a light exercise (or not-so-light depending on where you go) that combines nature with an activity you can share with friends. Make it a friends’ day out that doesn’t revolve around watching the tv or drinking.
If you really want to be mindful of the activity, try out one version of a Japanese practice called forest bathing.
Have a spa day
This is something everyone should do at least once.
Taking a little while to relax your entire body and mind will do more for you than you might realize. Those moments of slowing down and allowing your body to heal itself will leave you amazingly refreshed (not to mention soft and fragrant).
A day at a professional spa can encompass a lot of different things from massages, to manicures and pedicures, to steam rooms and mud baths, and much more. Maybe you aren’t up to all that and need to work your way there. No worries!
Throw yourself a little spa day at home! Light a candle or two and pour yourself a hot bath. Here’s the important bit, though: actually spend time soaking. Showering is meant to clean, soaking is meant to rest.
If you really want to go crazy in the tub, check out our list of DIY spa ideas.
Pursue a hobby
People tend to think of their hobbies as “hanging out with friends” or reading six pages of a book before falling asleep. Unfortunately, the former usually boils down to sitting in front of the TV and the latter isn’t really giving your mind the challenge it needs.
Hobbies are meant to put your mind to work on something that doesn’t have any other purpose than personal enjoyment. We recommend doing something entirely separate from a digital interface to take away some of the “noise” of daily life.
Many sitcom dads like to practice woodworking or mechanics, but that is by no means the only avenue for personal expression. Cooking, learning to sketch, or learning sign language are just as fulfilling while creating things you can put on your wall or in your stomach.
Pick up something new and actually throw yourself into it. You won’t regret it.
Meditate
Meditation is for more than monks these days and can do wonders for your mental health. You don’t need a spiritual connection to practice it either, sometimes you just need an app.
Meditation isn’t about finding nirvana (although it can be if you’re a practicing Buddhist) for most people in the Western hemisphere, it’s just about finding some peace. It’s also a useful skill if you live with periods of anxiety by providing a sure-fire trick to calm your thoughts.
The hardest part of meditation is learning to actively think of nothing. It’s hard to allow your mind to let go of thoughts and internal monologues when it’s never done that before. But practicing a few times will give you an excellent tool to use in your daily life, not just when you’re feeling anxious.
Our favorite way to start is by downloading a popular guided meditation app to learn the basics.
Talk with your buddies
Mental health can be an awkward topic to bring up, but we promise it’s worth it. When talking to your friends, mention that you’re trying to be more mindful of your mental health and that you’d like to be there for them when they need it and you’d like them near you if you’re struggling.
It doesn’t have to be an overly-serious talk, but just mentioning that you’d like to keep an open dialogue will do wonders for your friendship, and possibly, each other’s mental health. It’s a win-win!
No matter what your go-to self-care activities are, we’ve got you covered with our Love Yourself line. What are some of your favorite self-care activities? Tell us in the comments!
