February - Self-care: good for the heart in so many ways

Self-care is the way we build up our internal strengths for when they’re needed most. Just like the advice about oxygen masks in airplanes: you can’t take care of others if you haven’t taken care of yourself first.

When I was very young, someone advised me the best cure for the blues was accomplishment, no matter how small. I always find I feel better after I’ve done something, either for someone else or outside my comfort zone.

Here are some ideas for self-care to consider:

• Take “should” out of your vocabulary

• Take a nap without setting an alarm

• Take a different route to a usual destination

• Take up a hobby you can do “mindlessly” while other things are going on around you (knitting, for example)

• Intentionally schedule time for yourself on your calendar and protect your time slot from obligations

• Listen to interviews or podcasts with people who’ve overcome obstacles to get where they are now

• Fill a file folder or envelope with articles or images that inspire you. Look through it when you need encouragement

• Take a mental health day

• Pick up a musical instrument that you used to play and get back in touch with how it feels to make music

• Visit a library. Go to a section you wouldn’t normally visit. See who else is there.

• Reread a favourite book. When you’re done, give it to someone who you think might also enjoy reading it

• Do a jigsaw puzzle

• Ask three good friends to give you positive feedback on one of your recent accomplishments

• Tell your pet your darkest secrets

• Write out something that’s bothering you. Destroy the paper afterward

• Dance by yourself at home to a favourite song

• Do some quick, deep breathing exercises

• Try karaoke

• Visit a children’s play park. Swing on the swings

• Listen to meditative sounds, such as nature or chanting

• Late at night, go outside and look up at the stars. Wonder!

• Write down what you wanted to be when you were a child

• Lay in the sun for ten minutes while thinking about nothing at all

• Walk up and down the stairs three times

• Tear up a sheet of paper to relieve residual stress

• Take a long shower

• Pretend to be a tourist in your neighbourhood

• Eat some comfort food from your childhood

• Bring yourself flowers

• Order dinner in

• Write a list of your ten favourite childhood books

For way more information than you'll probably ever need, here are some articles I referenced while working on self-care for this class:

University of Buffalo School of Social Work: Self-Care Exercises and Activities, ranging from healthy eating to time management and compassion fatigue.

 275 ideas (o.m.g.!) for self-care from Develop Good Habits. I pulled a few from here for my list above. It's pretty exhaustive, broken down into categories for emotional, mental, physical, pleasure, sensory, social and spiritual. I find there are overlaps between categories, but still ... lots to work with.

Written for students at the University of Texas, here's a nice brief article on self-care for those of us who are daunted by too much info (like the 275 ideas list above). Sure, it's written for students, but I found it's brevity and clarity useful for me, too.

Spirituality & Health's excellent article on "self-care" (nurturing) vs. "soft-care" (self indulgence). Sometimes we don't need fancy, expensive treats, we just need to get in touch with our more basic needs. A short article, and highly recommended.

Next post: The Book of Qualities, and an exercise to do about your own good qualities.