Wondering how you are doing at self care? Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I get 6-8 hours of sleep a night?
• Am I eating 3 balanced meals a day?
• Am I able to say “no” to extra responsibilities sometimes?
• Do I participate in exercise 2-3 times a week?
• Do I know who is in my social support group and do I maintain those relationships?
• Do I have a hobby I enjoy doing?
• Do I know and participate in activities that relax me?
• Am I keeping my mind sharp by reading good books, playing word puzzles or seeking to educate myself further in areas that interest me?
• Do I know what triggers my bad moods and am I actively working remove those triggers?
• Do I know how to express my emotions in healthy ways that don’t hurt myself or others?
• Have I established spiritual or religious practices and do I practice them consistently?

Self care is not the same as self-indulgence or self-pampering. Most of us, myself included, could improve on how we take care of ourselves. We run ourselves ragged fulfilling our responsibilities and obligations to our family, friends and our work place, but we neglect ourselves. When we implement a healthy dose of self care we see the things that are most important to us, such as our health, our relationships, our career and our life goals, negatively affected. When we live a balanced life, we are able to complete our “to dos” and not feel emotional drained, depleted of energy and lacking in motivation at the end of the day.

Here are some tips for better self-care:

• Putting self-care into your schedule, like you would a class or an appointment.
• Choosing behaviors that you can reasonably implement, without overwhelming yourself. Remember, self-care is supposed to help you relax and rejuvenate your energy, not stress you out. For example, picking a book to read that you know you should read, but don’t want to might not be the best way to relax. Or deciding to polish your rusty piano playing skills by playing an hour a day might be too much to begin with.
• Trying to be more active and exercise.
• Doing activities that you once enjoyed, for example: listen to music, watch a football game, etc. Make time for them in your schedule.
• Setting realistic goals for yourself.
  Breaking up large, overwhelming tasks into smaller ones. Set some priorities and do what you can, as you can.
• Trying to spend time with other people and confide in a trusted friend or relative. Try not to isolate yourself, and let others help you.
• Am I keeping my mind sharp by reading good books, playing word puzzles or seeking to educate myself further in areas that interest me?
• Learning how to express emotions in a healthy way.

If you think you could use help learning self care, please reach out to me! Let’s talk today!