How do you practice self-care?
This is something I am notoriously bad at. When I came out of hospital following my amputation in 2020, my occupational therapist told me i needed to find some pastimes that were NOT exercise related!
This list is by no means exhaustive, but it represents how far I have gotten with this to date!
Let me know yours, perhaps there are things I have not thought of!
What Self-care looks like to me
- Reading. Depending on mood, sometimes an easy read book, other times factual or autobiographical.
- Silence. Is golden for me, I like to sit, in the park, in the garden, at the sea. And just ‘be’.
- Exercise. Again depending on mood I might walk, roll, swim, or cycle. Indoors or outdoors. I have a treadmill and a bike on an indoor trainer plus access to the local swimming pool.
- Coffee shop time out. Sometimes with a friend. Sometimes alone. It’s nice to just sit with a coffee and either chat, or watch the world go by.
- Dress up. Now I don’t mean anything OTT. But I find that if I make an effort with my daily appearance it makes me feel better.
- Declutter. Because physical space and tidiness helps calm my mind.
- Eat well. In so much as cook decent meals and not eat too much crap.
- Listen to music. The playlist varies, usually acoustic or slow jazz.
- Journal. This helps to get thoughts and worries out of my head and into an order as well as problem solve. It also helps me to kinda exit out from my brain and put it on a shelf.
- Get outside. Even just for 5 mins to sit in the sun, under a tree, on top of a hill, wherever.
- Mini pamper. This might be simple things like eyebrow wax, mini facial, or perhaps a mini shopping spree.
- Gratitude journal. I used to do this daily. Now I write at least 3 things I am grateful for every week on my weekly diary.
- Dine out. Every now and then I will treat myself to dinner out with my favourite human!
- Cat cuddles. Always makes me feel better. 😉
- Parkrun. It has formed one of my important self care items. Either running it, or volunteering. So much so that if I fail to turn up for too many weeks, one of my Parkrun friends will reach out to check I am ok.
