10 Small Ways To Take Care Of Yourself When You're About To Lose It, According To Psychology
Before you explode, try these ways to take care of you.
carlofranco | Pexels Many of our lives are centered on taking care of the needs of everyone around us, aside from ourselves. We run around taking care of kids, bosses, husbands/wives, pets, friends, co-workers, parents, etc.
Sometimes, the responsibilities we have in life feel like an overwhelming burden. Because of all of these responsibilities, we end up forgetting to have fun and enjoy life. We cater to being responsible before we cater to being happy. There needs to be an established balance between both. Taking care of ourselves doesn’t have to be a chore, an obligation, or something experienced as yet another burden.
Here are 10 small ways to take care of yourself when you're about to lose it, according to psychology:
1. Go outside
Exercise, take a walk, go to the beach/pool, hike, or whatever appeals to you. Get some fresh air. Fresh air fills us up with a fresh new look at life. A systematic review published in Annals of Leisure Research shows that getting outside allows for a state of relaxed contemplation. It serves as a release from all the pressures we sometimes feel trying to be everything to everyone.
2. Alone time
Make sure each day to get at least 30 minutes of alone time. You can get this time during your lunch break, half an hour before bed, or 30 minutes in the morning before everyone else gets up. Time alone helps you find emotional balance and is reparative. An article in the Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour examines the social and personal significance of solitude.
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3. Ignite your creativity
Whatever ignites your creative juices, from writing, reading, creating something, cooking, working on a car, building something, sewing, art. Being creative lets us know we are alive and passionate.
4. Spend time with friends
There is nothing better than a nice break from life’s responsibilities than spending time with people we love and who make us feel free. Research suggests social participation is an important predictor of individual health outcomes, so bonding is one of the healthiest ways to take care of ourselves.
5. Take a nap
A 20-minute nap is said to be rejuvenating for the whole physical, emotional, and mental system, as supported by a study in Partners Universal Innovative Research Publication. If you can fit it into your day, I highly recommend it.
6. Go shopping
Getting something new often brings light and excitement into our lives. We all need to reward ourselves for our hard work.
7. Connect spiritually
In whatever way works for you, enlivening your spiritual life can make you feel more connected to the process your life is taking. Frontiers in Psychology Journal published a cross-sectional survey demonstrating how a firm belief that life is happening as it should helps to relax a stressed mind.
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8. Get a massage
Touch is healing and a great way to reduce stress and love ourselves. Research in the Public Health Journal shows healing touch is associated with improved psychological and physical functioning.
9. Eat healthy
There is something about eating healthy that makes us feel as if we are headed in the right direction and have a sense of control over our circumstances. Eating healthy is a powerful choice in the direction of self-love.
10. Turn off your cell phone for a few hours
A study in Computers in Human Behavior Journal supports how it is incredibly healthy to be able to just disconnect from the social and internet world.
I encourage everyone to follow these steps and whatever steps come to mind as you read this list. You each have a knowing from within of what makes you feel good and which people, events, and circumstances bring you joy. It is so easy to get overwhelmed in the world of responsibility only to lose sight of the basic reasons for living.
You are here to feel happy as much as you can, to focus more on your pleasure than your pain, and to feel the fruits of your labor on an emotional (not just a financial) level. Your life experiences are dictated by how you feel emotionally.
Due to this reality, you must make a conscious effort to take care of how you are feeling. If you veer off into the negative, never-ending feeling of responsibility, you have to recalibrate and take some action to take care of yourself. You deserve it. Choose to be the best caretaker of you.
Dr. Sherrie Campbell is an author and a licensed Psychologist with more than nineteen years of clinical training and experience. She provides practical tools to help people overcome obstacles to self-love and truly achieve an empowered life. She is a featured expert on a variety of national websites and has a successful practice in Southern California.