Hey guy.
It’s Lay.
So I have been speaking on a lot of heavy topics lately and honestly 2020 as a whole is stressful in terms of uncomfortable topics coming to light, there’s new drama like every single second and overall people are just trying to adjust and find balance in this new way of normal which is what I speak about in my last blog post. A person needs to be in the middle. They can’t be too negative or too positive because too much of anything is a bad thing. so what I wanted to do this week since I’ve been talking about very heavy topics, I want to advise on how a person can recharge their energy through different forms of self-care.
To start, let’s talk about self-care. I wrote about self-care a lot in the past. I did one post as a self-care challenge in April, as well as a post last year about self-care. The thing most people realize about self-care is it is more than indulgence. Self-care is about what you need versus what you want. Self-care is about the habits you do to be your best self.
Different forms of self-care
Not too long ago, I got a book called “The little book of self-care for libra” by Constance Stella’s. The book has two parts and part one has two chapters. Chapter 1 of part one talks about self-care. It speaks about what self-care is and isn’t, as well as different types of self-care. There are a total of six self-care categories: physical self-care, emotional self-care, social self-care, mental self-care, spiritual self-care, and practical self-care.
Physical self-care is about your physical body. Emotional self-care Is about acknowledging your emotional well-being. Social self-care is about your relationships with other people. Mental self-care is what keeps your mind working. Spiritual self-care is not only about religion but connecting with a higher power. Practical self-care is the day to day tasks that bring you peace and make you feel accomplished.
The second chapter is about self-care and how it connects to astrology so it is not that important to explain in this post since many people don’t like astrology or find it annoying. my personal opinion is that even though I don’t believe in it, I find it interesting. Part 2 of the book just lists self-care ideas based on the zodiac sign.
Chapter 1 was important because it opened my eyes to what self-care actually is and the truth is it’s not all about spending money or treating yourself. Self-care is a necessity, not a luxury. I feel like the majority let themselves go in any of these categories because I read things about people showering less, about people eating more or eating less, I see people pretending that everything in the world is OK or I see people just being completely negative about everything happening and I get it. I want to give tips on ways to recharge your energy during this stressful time.
Self-care ideas
Logging off of social media
Logging off of social media is something that I practiced recently. I started doing this because I needed to take a step back to process everything that was happening in the world. Some people find that deleting apps is difficult so I think just logging off When you’re not using it is a great way to start. I know many people find it disrespectful for people to not be posting on social media but I also feel like if things are starting to overwhelm you to a point where you feel like you were having breakdowns and it’s impacting you mentally, Take a step back. Sometimes you just need to and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. On your time off you can take time to educate yourself on topics, you can take time to wrap your head around things and you can just take time to just breathe, and sometimes we all need time to do that.
Meal Prepping
I spoke about meal prepping in my last video that was about tips for going back to school. The biggest thing people complained about during quarantine was the fact they were overeating. However, in some cases, people were under-eating due to trying to fill their time with things that distract them from their emotions. It is a natural response to overeat or under-eat in times of stress, anxiety, and depression. While the other half of the world seems to be doing okay, there is talk of second wave in many other places. We can learn from last time and prepare better. My college is officially doing remote learning for another semester. So one thing I got was meal prep containers so that during my time at home I can be eating the right amount of food for my body. Meal prepping isn’t just good for quarantine but for when you are on the go or if you’re trying to practice portion control.
Communicating with people that make you feel happy
When I went out for the first time when small gatherings with under 10 people were acceptable in New York to a small gathering for my baby cousin. Anyways so someone who was technically family because they are my other cousin’s mother was invited. And the first thing she did when she saw me was fat shame me by saying thing like “you should go to the gym” (which didn’t make sense because gyms were closed for months) and to “lay off the pasta” (even though I haven’t had in a while and usually if I do its vegetable pasta). Barely any people could maintain healthy during quarantine for the fact that not everyone had accessible resources and some people were struggling to adjust. That encounter made me realize that especially during this time or any time and stress I don’t want to associate myself with anyone who makes me feel badly about myself. So anyone I text, call, FaceTime, Dm, etc. has to be a positive reinforcement in my life and if they are not, I’m not going to talk to them. I don’t care if we are friends, family, or anything, there’s no point in talking to a person who makes me feel bad about myself, drained or anything along those lines.
Cleaning, organizing and decluttering
I am a huge believer in the idea that your environment can affect your well-being. That is why how your space is matters. During quarantine, especially on YouTube, you would see people making cleaning videos, decluttering videos, organizing videos etc. because there is just so much time to do something about your space. Having a clean space is a representation of how your mind is. If your space is clean then your mind is open but if your space is cluttered than so are your thoughts. This does not make sense to many people but even when I was struggling with depression in high school my room was always a mess because I couldn’t bother feeling OK enough to clean up and every time my room was clean I was always in the best mood in the best headspace so I believe that there is a direct correlation. Cleaning can also be very therapeutic.
Doing something kind aka good deeds
To this day I still think about that episode in Friends where Joey and Phoebe get into a disagreement about good deeds and whether or not there is such thing as a selfless good deed. I agree with Joey because even through my research I couldn’t find a selfless good deed however it also depends on your definition of what a selfless good deed like. For me, every good deed has a benefit for yourself even if you didn’t intend it. That is why I consider doing something good for others as a form of self-care. Even though there is always going to be a cause and effect, it doesn’t make the good deed any less good just because you got rewarded in some form (I consider feeling good about yourself and your actions a reward).
Doing good deeds is especially important now because there are so many people suffering. Some examples of good deeds are donating clothes, sending someone take out or groceries if you know they need it, checking in on a person, donating money, signing petitions, sending thank you letters to hospital workers, Tipping the person delivering your food, donating food to a food drive, doing chores you don’t normally do, sharing other people’s act of kindness, supporting small businesses, supporting people by sharing their content, donating books, tell someone why you are thankful for them, etc.
Journaling
Journaling is a good way to take care of yourself emotionally and mentally. I did a blog post about self-care that has a lot of writing prompts. Writing prompts can remind you of things you may forget like things you are thankful for. Writing can also be used to get down your emotions during this time. It can be used in any way you want it to be used for.
Making Hygiene a priority
I remember seeing a tweet from a huge influencer saying that they had their first shower in 10 weeks. While I understand some people don’t have the resources to keep up with their hygiene since many people became homeless or lost their jobs and are on a tight budget. However, hearing that from an influencer made me think about how many people saw that and thought it was a good habit because someone they idolize said that. Poor hygiene (when someone does have the resources) can be a sign of depression or another form of mental illness. Other people are just lazy but if you are just being lazy, just remember that having good hygiene helps prevents illnesses and infections and gives you better health all around.
Reading a book that aligns with you
I thought of this one because for some people being connected spiritually brings them comfort. For example, I know someone who reads the Bible every day because it gives them hope. Another example, a YouTuber who grew up Christian started reading the yoga sutras because they better aligned with her beliefs. Sometimes religious practices don’t work for everyone and they prefer something spiritual to explore. Just read things that align with you as a person.
Being physically active
Being physically active is not just for physical self-care and it can help you in all aspects. When I say be physically active, it doesn’t mean to just exercise. You can do something fun and still move around. For example, I haven’t been doing much exercise like I used to but I’ve been doing more dance and trying to get back into dancing and watching more dance YouTube videos. I feel like do you something that brings you joy. Even if it’s not to get results, just do it to stay active.
That’s all for today. I wanted to do this blog post because I’ve been writing a lot of heavy content and I want to balance out my post. I want this blog to be a place where people can learn but also a place of peace. We are now time where we understand a bit more about what’s happening but there is still uncertainty about when things will normalize again. So keep trying your best. A lot is going on and sometimes you need to preserve your energy.
I hope you all found this post to be very helpful. Don’t forget to like comment and share with all your friends and family. Have a good day evening or night and don’t forget to come back next Saturday for another new post.
Until next time,
xoxo Lay 💋
Last blog post - OD: Toxic positivity and Finding middle ground
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