Day 37 - self care activities

Day 37 suggests to do self care activities. I am lost what those could be ? Please share self care activities you have on your list.

Thanks,Shweta

 

Hi Shweta,
Good to hear from you again.

Self-care can mean any action that helps you be more soothed, relaxed, more yourself, more engaged in life, more alive, more happy. It has a special name I guess because we often drive ourselves along taking care of business, or others and forget the simple things that make life worth living! It is focused on attending to our own satisfaction, not another person's happiness, but it might help others too. It often is called for when we need support in our lives.

Here are some of mine, but each person has their own. It is fun to think of these and do them, because you become more aware of whether or not you are "taking care of yourself." You might enjoy braiding a child's hair! Who knows!

Take a hot bath
Take a short walk in the evening
Call a friend to chat
Share my feelings with a close friend if I need support
Play my musical instruments or sing
Dance
Meditate
Eat healthy food
Eat delicious food
Hang out with my friends and do nothing
Connect with people here at TMS forum by reading and posting
Stop myself when I see I am pushing myself to extremes
Take breaks from tedious tasks
Walt's deep breathing
Following my own breath
Drawing abstract things with color
Laying on my bed doing nothing
Listening to music
Participate in movement groups
Pay for Somatic Experiencing sessions which help me enjoy my body more
Buy a massage
Keep my boundaries with work and relationships so that I don't give up who I am in order to be in relationship
Disengage from the Inner Critic
Self-Empathy practice

Enjoy!

Andy B.

 

Thanks Andy, thats a very detailed message explaining me the concept so well. Time to practice !

Shweta

 

Andy's list of self-care ideas is great.

Deep breathing really helps relax me.
And thinking of good times with friends and family. They are like mini-mental vacations.

I loved a 1940s British movie called "Vacation from Marriage." (A couple was separated by war
and came to love each other all over again). It's on DVD from Netflix.

I take a vacation from worry and fear by some of the self-care suggestions Andy lists.