Basic Self-Care Tips For Beginners
Self Care Benefits
Self-care can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be so complicated if you learn the self care basics. Rest assured, you will find the best ways and most effective ones to take care of yourself. Taking care of yourself can result in physical and emotional benefits. When you’re less stressed, it can lower your blood pressure. Self care techniques are practices that you can put into place with the help of a therapist. You can find ways to care for yourself daily and with a long term plan. That way, your physical health is in good shape, you feel less anxious, you’ll probably have a healthy heart, good blood pressure, and a sturdy immune system. Self-care practices support us in living a healthy life. They’re there to make people feel good about themselves. There are some basic self-care tips for beginners. It comes down to finding ways to take care of your body, engaging in physical activity, nourishing your mind, and creating boundaries around friendships and family situations. You may not have thought of simple self-care ideas, but they are easy to put into place. Practicing self-care can be quite fulfilling, whether going to a support group for something you have trouble in your life or using essential oils to alleviate anxiety. You would be surprised at what taking good care of yourself will do for your quality of life. There are simple self-care activities you can do that can make you feel good about yourself. Let’s look at the basic examples of self care and tips for a productive self care day and learn how to create a self care guide.
Practicing Self Care
Fight Against Guilt
Guilt is an emotion that we all feel from time to time. It’s your inner critic running wild. Self-care isn’t a bad thing. You don’t have to feel shame or guilt when you take care of yourself. You might feel guilty because you haven’t done enough.” It’s a part of the human experience to question what you could or could not have done. Guilt is about the regrets that you have in life. It’s important to realize that everyone has guilt, but when it becomes all-consuming, then it can impact your ability to take care of yourself. So, if you find you’re feeling guilty much of the time, it could benefit you to find a therapist to discuss these issues. Your therapist can help you reduce the stress associated with guilt, and they can suggest self-care strategies. One thing they might encourage you to do is to start a worry journal. In this book, you can note things that make you feel guilty and start practicing daily self-care activities. This will help you improve your life so that you feel more connected to yourself and so you’re not obsessing and feeling guilty over every little thing you’re doing. Guilt can impede your relationships, and it can make you feel as if you’re not trying hard enough, but these are lies that your brain is telling you. When you find a therapist, you can discuss these concerns and even bring your worry journal into therapy to discuss what’s bothering you. Your counselor can show you that self-care isn’t going to hurt you, but rather it can help you!
Boundaries
Boundaries are limits you set with other people, and they can enhance your ability to engage in self-care. One way to set boundaries with others is by creating time for yourself. If a friend asks you to hang out and you feel bad or guilty because you haven’t seen them in a long time, you know that you need to attend a support group that they want to be together. It’s okay to say no. Your friend will understand if they care about you that you will find time to see each other. But, taking care of yourself physically and mentally needs to take priority. Spending time with friends and family is important because you want to make sure that you maintain that support system, but you won’t be pleasant to be around if you’re feeling neglected. You need to take care of your mind and body, and setting boundaries is a part of that. Self-care involves saying no a lot of the time because you need to balance doing things for yourself and being around people you care about. Part of a daily self-care strategy is balancing, saying no to some things, and saying yes to others. Remember that there are only so many hours in the day, and it’s important to gauge what you can and can’t do.
Breaks
Just like boundaries, breaks are incredibly important and a part of self-care. You can’t keep going and going like the Energizer bunny. You need to take care of yourself, and one of the best self-care tips that you can get is to take breaks. Self-care isn’t about overindulging, but rather, it’s about knowing your limits and what you can and can’t do. What can help you is to take timed breaks so that you’re not overdoing it, whether it’s overworking or taking too much time slacking off. A timed break means that you set 10 minutes to go take a walk or make a phone call to a friend. But it’s not about neglecting your responsibilities. Self-care activities can involve breaks, and it’s okay to stop what you’re doing to stretch your legs, rest your eyes, or make sure that you’re drinking enough water. These are things that you need to do to stay balanced and avoid burnout. Taking breaks can improve your life in a very significant way. It’s essential to take breaks, especially if you have a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression, or chronic pain. People that live with chronic pain disorders can exacerbate their symptoms if they overdo it. It’s crucial to take breaks when you have these issues to don’t burn out or hurt yourself further.
Eating
Eating is a basic need that is necessary to stay alive, and it’s crucial to take care of your body and make sure that you’re eating multiple times a day. Many people burn out because they are overdoing it, and they forget to eat. Or sometimes, people overindulge in food, and then they feel worse. You can discuss this when you find a therapist struggling with issues surrounding eating or having an eating disorder. It’s crucial to discuss these concerns with a therapist so that you can live a healthy lifestyle. You may feel guilty because of your eating habits, but that isn’t productive; that’s just your inner critic running wild. It’s crucial to talk to a therapist about issues that impact you, and if eating is one that you struggle with, don’t be afraid to talk about it. If you struggle with an eating disorder, you can join a support group or find a therapist to help you talk through these issues. As a form of complementary care, you can also reach out to a creative arts therapist specializing in dance and movement modalities and working with people struggling with body dysmorphia, one-on-one or in a group therapy setting. Support groups can improve your life and help you feel connected to individuals who understand you. Eating is something that people neglect at times, or it could be that they don’t have a healthy relationship with food, and these are issues that you can talk about when you find a therapist.
Make A Self-Care Routine
Human beings thrive on routines and schedules. Even people with free spirits can benefit from doing things regularly. That’s why creating a self-care routine is a positive thing. It’s not something that comes naturally to some, but it can enrich your daily life. When you find a therapist, they can help you create solid self-care strategies that are easy to implement into a routine. A mental health professional is well-versed in self-care. You can find a therapist who understands your unique challenges regarding taking care of yourself and establishing a solid routine that works for you.
Emotional Insight
When you’re practicing self-care, one of the things to pay attention to is how you’re feeling. When you have emotional insight into how you view yourself, you’ll be better able to take care of yourself. One of the ways you can gain this is by journaling. Another way is by taking these issues out with friends, family, or your support system. Learning more about yourself and understanding your feelings can support your daily self plan in the long term. It will reduce stress because rather than repressing your feelings, you’re looking into how you perceive things and how you want to improve your life.
Online Therapy
It may be easier to find a therapist than you know. Online therapy is an excellent place to work through any issues surrounding self-care and emotional challenges. In addition to joining a support group, an online therapist cares about your feelings and can help you work through complicated life problems. There are so many ways to practice self-care, and you can learn them with the help of a therapist. The counselors at BetterHelp are mental health professionals who want to help you develop simple health care practices. You will be able to better take care of your body and mind when engaging in self-care activities. It’s one of the best ways to start caring for yourself. Your self-care routine is crucial, and maybe you’re having trouble with spending too much time on social media. If that’s the case, the therapists at BetterHelp can help you create times to check your social media and set limits on it. They can support you in brainstorming self-care ideas. It can help to bounce concepts off your therapist. Sometimes people draw a blank when it comes to self-care ideas. That’s okay! That’s what therapists are there for, and feel free to utilize their expertise. You’ll find ways to reduce stress in your life. Whatever your challenges are, these are basic self-care practices that can help you with self-care. You can reach out for help when you need it.
Commonly Asked Questions About This Topic
How do I start basic self-care?
What are the 5 steps to self-care?
What are the 3 rules of self-care?
What are the 6 types of self-care?
Why do I struggle to take care of myself?
What is a good self-care routine?
How can I mentally work on myself?
What are 5 ways to improve mental health?
Commonly Asked Questions About Self-Care
How Do I Start Basic Self-care?
Sometimes, when it comes to self care for beginners, it is best to start with the basics and build a supportive daily routine that you can stick to. Self care basics may include drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, and other actions that help you meet your basic needs. Self care routines don't necessarily need to be lengthy or overwhelming; building self care routines where each action takes just a few minutes or writing a short to do list may be helpful if you want to start basic self care but aren't sure how or feel overwhelmed in the process. This can be particularly true if you really want to start with self care basics. Some individuals even find it advantageous to use or create a self care planner.
Remember that it's not about being perfect but about taking care of yourself as a whole person, and congratulate yourself for your achievements. A part of self care and self love is treating yourself with kindness. Sometimes, self care will look like drinking enough water, making sure you have time to eat lunch at work, and getting enough sleep. Just as self care can vary by person, it can also vary by day or the season of life you're in.
What Are The 6 Types Of Self-Care?
There's not just one type or form of self care. When you build self care routines, you may want to take a note of the different types or elements of self-care. Here are six types of self-care:
- Emotional self-care, which refers to caring for your emotional health. This can include going to therapy, taking time to relax, using deep breathing exercises when you feel overwhelmed, or adding me time to your day, even if it is just for a moment.
- Physical self care, which refers to taking care of your body or physical well being. Examples of physical self care could include healthy eating or taking time to exercise regularly.
- Social self-care, which refers to taking care of your social health. This could mean that you make it a priority to spend time with family, friends, a support group, or other people in your life.
- Occupational self-care, which refers to taking care of yourself in the context of your occupation. Occupational self care might mean creating and maintaining a work schedule that allows you to meet your needs, taking your lunch break instead of working through it, setting boundaries with yourself about when you'll answer emails, or something else.
- Environmental self-care, which refers to taking care of your environment. This could mean cleaning the home or organizing the space that you're in, which may have an impact on how you feel.
- Financial self-care, which refers to taking care of your finances or financial well being within the capacity that you have control over. For example, paying bills, creating a budget, or sticking to a budget.
If you're working on establishing some self care basics or want to build helpful self care routines that support your overall well being, you might check in with the above areas of your life and see what you're missing or what could make you feel better in these realms or others. Remember that you can adjust it to meet your unique needs as a person, as no two people are alike.
What Are 5 Ways To Improve Mental Health?
Here are five possible ways to support mental health:
- Socialize, whether with family, friends, or anyone else that you find positive, rejuvenating, or otherwise helpful to connect with personally.
- Get enough sleep. This can make you feel physically better in addition to supporting your mental well being.
- Work to manage stress in your life. Stress can have a serious impact on the mind and body, especially if it's prolonged. You might work to prevent stress or use stress management techniques to achieve this.
- Attend therapy. A mental health provider can help with various mental health concerns or things that may negatively affect mental health, including stress, mental health conditions, relationship problems, grief, and more.
- Spend time outdoors. Studies show that this can be advantageous for mental health, and often, it can help people work physical activity into their day if an increase in movement is a goal.
Of course, these aren't the only ways to take care of your emotional health or mental health. There are many things a person might do on a regular basis or add to their self care routines to support mental health, and what that means can vary rather extensively from person to person. Although a beginner's guide to self-care that you find online or in a magazine may include some general or broad recommendations and guidelines, it is vital to remember that you are a unique individual. When it comes to certain elements of self-care, there are times when it might be necessary to discuss it with a medical provider to get individualized advice. As an example, this may be the case when it comes to nutrition or nutritional guidelines. Those seeking a beginner's guide to self-care might find it beneficial to first look at basic human needs and whether or not theirs are being met fully. To identify what your self-care needs are, you might ask yourself questions about your needs, such as, "Am I drinking enough water?" and "Do I feel overwhelmed? Am I experiencing high levels of stress, and if so, what can I do to better manage that stress?" This can help you get in touch with yourself and decide what your personal goals are as far as self-care is concerned.
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