5 Free Examples of Self-Care
Self-care has become a popular buzzword in the news and social media. In the general scheme of things it often conjures up visions of expensive shopping sprees and spa days. Or, if you’re a fan of the show Parks and Recreation , you might recall the saying, “Treat Yo’Self”, which again involved spoiling yourself with tangible items. While a bit of shopping might constitute self-care for some, overall the idea of a shopping spree might be missing the mark when it comes to truly taking care of yourself.
According to the University of New Hampshire, self-care “…refers to anything that you do to keep yourself mentally, emotionally, physically, socially and spiritually healthy.“ That’s a rather broad definition, in my opinion, and we live in a very subjective world. To the person next to you, having a “Treat Yo’self” day could very well mean self-care. But in my therapy sessions I have learned that self-care rarely involves spending money, so I wanted to share some free ideas with you in this post.
Take A Nap
According to the Mayo Clinic, taking a 20-30 minute nap can help you feel more relaxed and improve your energy. If your sleep schedule is off or you’re feeling tired due to an overabundance of stress, a quick nap can help you reset. Napping might not be for everyone, however. If you have trouble falling asleep at night, you might want to avoid napping during the day.
Be In Nature
Most parks and natural locations are free or very low cost and can provide many benefits to an overwhelmed nervous system. Humans are like highly complicated plants, after all–we need our water and sun! But we spend so much time glued to a screen and I’m sure you know the negative effects that has on our bodies and minds. According to the American Psychological Association, “…exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders, and even upticks in empathy and cooperation.” So get outside!
Meditate
I promise you do not need to hit a yoga pose or light incense or play music-but you can if you like. Meditation is as simple as focusing on your breathing. I wrote about my favorite mindfulness app in a previous post. The app is available for both Android and iOS and it’s totally free. The app was created by the US Department of Veterans Affairs and was created to help those struggling with PTSD, but as someone with CPTSD, I’ve found that the guided meditations help tremendously as well. Praciting mindfulness and focusing on your breathing through meditation will help remind your nervous system to stay out of fight or flight.
Get Moving
The concept of exercise can be triggering if we have limitations or body-related trauma. But getting your heart rate up is very important for the body and the mind. Harvard Health Publishing has a blog post that lists 5 of the ways doing something as simple as walking can help our body. It can reduce stress, boost your immune system and even help combat obesity-related problems. Since we already defined self-care as an activity that helps the mind-body connection, we can definitely list movement as a free way for self-care.
DeClutter
Self-care isn’t always fun, but it is important. And while the idea of de-cluttering and tidying up your home doesn’t exactly sound like a blast, it’s important to know how much clutter can contribute a negative effect on our mental health. Clutter can contribute to stress by raising cortisol levels according to this post by WebMD. It can also affect our concentration and make us more isolated if we’re embarrassed by our home due to the amount of clutter. Set a timer for 5 minutes and try to tackle the nearest pile. It’s all about starting small.
What are some of your favorite free or low-cost ways to implement self-care? Let me know in the comments.