Self-Care Is Important for Our Mental Health

I didn’t grow up in a family that valued self-care. In fact, self-care was seen as a weakness, something only pretentious, lazy people engaged in. For a family who prided themselves on hard work, self-care was seen as a waste of time and money.

It was only after a few of us reached a point of exhaustion, physically feeling unwell and emotionally broken, that we became concerned to focus on self-care and our wellbeing.

At first, craving out time for myself was challenging. The guilt was palpable. Voices that told me I was underserving of rest and that I should be more productive, were loud.

Yet, the more time I indulged in self-care, the better I felt. And the better I felt, the less guilt I had.

Here’s my go-to-self practice for the summer:

• Meditate before checking social media. This wakes me up feeling centered. According to research, mindfulness meditation can help you stop ruminating, spinning around in circles thinking about what happened in the past or what’s going to happen in the future. It can help you notice your thoughts without judging them.
• Take a mindful shower. If you don’t have time in the morning, practice mindfulness in the shower. Set the intention to wash away any worries that might be gnawing at you. Notice the temperature, the water touching your skin, the water pressure, any sounds around you. This is one of my favorite quick and easy ways to weave a few minutes of mindfulness into my day.
• Listen to mindful apps. Experts recommend apps for beginners who have no idea where to start with meditation. These apps provide guided instruction to show you exactly what to do and help ou stay accountable. Apps like Insight Timer, Headspace, Calm, Shine and Ten Percent Happier have devoted user bases who swear by them, too.
• Move your body. You don’t need to do a whole bootcamp exercise or run five miles. Doing yoga, going on a walk, or having a dance party in your apartment can do the trick! There are a lot of great mental health boosters we can do for free and from the comfort of our own homes.

How do you put your needs first?