After more than a four-and-a-half years, it’s become fully apparent that the Covid-19 pandemic may resurface and it has changed the way we live forever— from our work arrangements to our recreational activities to our social lives. This new reality poses a unique set of challenges for all of us, and as of now there are reports of the Covid-19 infections resurfacing. It is now clear that we need to look after ourselves, more than ever before. Focusing on what makes us feel nourished and gives us meaning is a part of easing, feelings of stress and anxiety.
Many things can get in the way of our taking care of ourselves including family responsibilities, work and social commitments. But eventually, it is our own responsibility to take care of ourselves. And self-care is not in any way selfish. Self-care can include many practices that you might find enjoyable and promote your physical, emotional, spiritual and mental health and that may include hygiene, nutrition, meditation leisure and sport activities.
I have made a list of 25 self-care tips to help you feel good about yourselves:
1. Prioritise Sleep
Your mood and immune system are counting on it, when it comes to taking care of your health and well-being, sleep is pretty much always part of the answer. Getting enough good-quality sleep keeps your immune system running at its best to fight off infections, like the one caused by the coronavirus.
2. Get Active, Exercise
Staying active keeps your body healthy physically, keeping your risk of chronic health issues down and lowering your chances of an acute illness. Staying physically active also lessens the risk of mood disorders, increases energy, and improves mood overall. If you don’t have access to a gym or any other facility, simply going for a walk would suffice.
3. Do Yoga and Meditate
Yoga offers a laundry list of health benefits, from busting stress to stretching out inactive muscles to building strength. Yoga can be an especially useful tool to add to your coping arsenal right now. Calm and measured breathing can have immediate effect on your mental and physical state.
4. Take a Walk in the Park
Walking in an area with trees and deeply inhaling the air can be a mood lifter. Trees release certain chemicals, like terpenes, that have been associated with the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which sends your body into “chill-out” de-stress mode.
5. Go Shopping
Buying vegetables or groceries can be a therapeutic activity. The process of going to the vegetable market, talking to the different vendors, exploring the availability of different vegetables or groceries can divert your mind and ease stress. Try in once and you will enjoy the experience.
6. Stop Watching the News
While it’s important to stay informed of critical updates in the world. But no one needs to listen to the same alerts and see the same headlines repeatedly, when the news is upsetting and can cause anxiety, switch off the channel. Consider using one channel of your choice for the news which you will refer to once a day.
7. Phone a Friend
With so much going on in your world, it’s totally understandable that your head may be full of unpleasant emotions. Instead of trying to push those thoughts out of your mind, phone a friend and speak your thoughts. Next time you feel angry or upset, try speaking those feelings to a trusted friend or a loved one.
8. Declutter your Home and your Mind
Can tidying up really change your mood? We carry unnecessary baggage in our mind and in our home. It is important to let go of negative emotions that are caused by incidents, by forgetting and forgiving the people who caused this hurt. It’s only you that are carrying the unpleasant baggage. Similarly getting rid of stuff you are not going to use and it has remained in the drawer for some sentimental reason, let go and you feel lighter.
9. Hone your Cooking Skills
Cooking is a very creative process and that can include baking, because for many people that act of creating something delicious feels like pressing a reset button. It’s an easy project for including other family members, like a spouse or kids. The aroma of baking a cake that ends with a delicious result and doing something creative can promote a feeling of well-being.
10. Play a Game
Game-playing is a great way to relax and relieve stress. Whether it is Monopoly or even the simple Ludo, games are an excellent anti-stress strategy. Although part of the appeal is playing with friends and family in person, there are also many virtual options, like Words with Friends, or get your friends together and choose a game.
11. Create a ‘Don’t Do’ List
Self-care doesn’t have to be an action item. It can be about freeing up space for the things that matter in your life and removing those that steal your energy. Go ahead and physically write down a “don’t do” list, something that can serve as a reminder that holds you accountable. This list helps you get unstuck. You may not get this perfect the first time, but you can keep making adjustments until you’re doing more of the things that perk you up.
12. Practise Positive Self-Talk
Just as it is important to have a ‘don’t do’ list, it is equally important to talk to yourself about your positive aspects. This is an important aspect of self-care as to how you view your-self. Appreciate the small tasks you do during the day and remember to tell yourself “good job” — whether it’s work, making time for exercise, or any other trivial task. Celebrate your daily successes with positive self-talk. It might feel weird at first, but your brain will soak up that self-care goodness.
13. Start enjoying Music
Music therapy employs music to help people cope with physical or emotional needs. It’s actually been found to lessen symptoms in people with mood problems, such as anxiety and depression, as well as lift self-esteem. And you probably don’t need a clinical study to tell you that listening to your favourite tune will put a smile on your face.
14. Tickle your funny bone
Reap the health benefits of laughter by watching funny YouTube videos. When it comes to stress relief, laughter is an instant fix, when you’re laughing you’re enhancing your intake of oxygen-rich air, which helps your heart, lungs, and muscles. Plus, you’re releasing feel-good hormones like endorphins, which can ease tension and add to an overall sense of well-being.
15. Work with your Hands and Get Creative
Creative and artistic endeavours like drawing, painting, or knitting, gardening can be relaxing for a lot of people. For some people it’s a chance to tune out other distractions and focus on one thing at a time. For others, it’s an outlet to express emotions. As we grow older, our handwriting and signature changes. It is important to practice your signature, so that there are no problems with banking and other legal documents. Don’t underestimate the power of creativity to ease your mind and bring you joy.
16. Travel through Food
YouTube is full of recipes from different countries, different foods of various cultures from all over the world. Hence, even if you can’t travel abroad, you can take a trip there via YouTube. One way to do this is to follow the recipe from a place that you have never been too improvising in your own way. It could end up being completely different but as you go along tasting it at every step you could end up with something completely different but nevertheless delicious.
17. Understand and Be Aware of what gives you Stress
Self-care is about knowing how and what gives you stress. When you’re being overloaded or overwhelmed, and responding with issues that cause you stress. Are you sitting in traffic swearing? Getting more headaches or stomach aches lately? Take it as a cue to ask yourself how to get out of the current situation. Maybe you need to roll your shoulders a few times and then go take a short walk. It’s about building up an awareness and having the self-knowledge to check in and adjust.
18. Avoid Mindless Snacking
Are you snacking because you’re bored and eating thoughtlessly from your snack drawer that is within easy reach? Rather than self-impose strict rules on what foods are off-limits, try intuitive eating. It’s not a diet so much as a way of eating that’s all about giving your body what it needs when it needs it. Intuitive eating doesn’t restrict any specific foods or have you counting calories. It’s a practice in which you listen to your body and pay attention to what you need in the moment.
19. Practise Gratitude
Practise gratitude and be grateful and kind to others for what’s going right in your life. Clinical studies have found that people who regularly practice gratitude report better well-being, physical health, and increased optimism about the future. Practising kindness is sometimes easier said than done but remember that while others are going through a tough time you seem to be better off than others.
20. Cuddle up with your partner / spouse
For healthy consenting adults, sex can be mindblowing, the good feelings around the brain during sex are due to brain chemistry, specifically dopamine and opioid chemicals that the brain releases have a positive effect on mental health. It’s a fallacy that seniors can not enjoy sex.
21. Learn a new language or take an online course
Learning something new is another way to challenge your brain and hone a practical skill. Learning can promote healthy cognitive ageing and it could have a role in delaying the onset of dementia. Research says that the brain responds favorably to cognitive challenges.
22. Check out the Critics, Top Movie Picks
Not in the mood for reading, immerse yourself in inspiring TV shows and movies about strength in difficult circumstances. These stories are about how others have faced adversity and persevered. Have a good take home lesson.
23. Try Virtual Therapy and Stress Management Tools
Online therapy tools and virtual therapy apps are relatively new, but there’s mounting evidence that they deliver measurable benefits to those who use them, particularly with shorter-term stress management. Several mental wellness apps can help you learn coping skills and stress management. Choose one that fits your needs.
24. Catch up with Family
Create a family tree starting with two generations earlier. It’s a great hobby to connect with distant cousins. You never know who you could find compatible and start a new friendship. A family provides great emotional support talking, emailing, messaging on WhatsApp and extending your circle of friends is highly satisfying. A family can also be a source of pain and agony, blocking those out of your horizon that cause you unhappiness.
25. Start a new hobby
Whether it’s going to a bird sanctuary or doing research on your city or reading about the maritime history of your country. Curiosity is a wonderful thing that ignites your passion about new subjects, is a great stress reliever and can occupy you productively.
Practising self-care in our senior years is more essential than ever, when it comes to taking care of our emotional health and wellbeing.
Pamper yourself, have a massage, a facial, yoga, travel, a pedicure, a manicure, visit the spa, give yourself a gift. Choose something specific that you know will bring you joy. Enjoy the experience of shopping or indulging in a treat. Consciously keep away from people and things that create negativity.
