10 Tips for Self Care

Self care is important for your emotional, mental and physical wellbeing. Here are some top tips to implement self care. 

1.Go for a walk in nature. Not only does this help with keeping fit but it helps to boost mood and relax the mind. I highly recommend doing this if feeling stressed or anxious and making it a habit. There may even be some walking clubs local to you. Check out meetup.com or search online for local walking groups. 

2.Meditation. I cannot stress enough the many benefits of learning and practising meditation. Contrary to belief you don't need to sit in a locus position reciting om's. You can sit in a comfortable chair or lie down. If your new to meditation I suggest starting off with body scan meditations. This brings your focus out of your busy mind. Meditation can be very relaxing and boost mood and lower anxiety as well as many other benefits. Stick your headphones on and do it ten to fifteen minutes before bed and or before rising in the morning. 

3. Breathing exercises. Practising breathing exercises or focused breathing can help with anxiety and stress. There are a few techniques and for the purposes of this guide I will cover the four by four technique also known as the box/square technique. This can be done lying down and even sitting or standing. You breathe in for a count of four seconds, hold the breath for a count of four seconds, breathe out for a count of four seconds and hold for a count of four seconds. Repeat until feeling calm. 

4. Reading Self Help/Personal Development Books There are various personal development books out there particularly aimed at anxiety and the mindset. You will find loads on Amazon. I would go by the reviews however, one of my favourite titles was 'You Can Heal Your Life' by Louise Hay. I have also heard others rave about this book as well. 

5. Stop Being a People Pleaser. This is a hard one but doing work in this area will be beneficial. The more you do for people and the more you go our your way to please them the more that is expected from you. Leading to their expectations going higher and you never meeting them. This can lead to fuelling your anxiety with your willingness to please. Learn to say no for your own wellbeing. 

6. Get Your Thoughts out onto paper. Write down your thoughts and get them all on paper. This will help you to get the thoughts out of your head onto paper. You will then be able to see what thoughts are logical and what ones aren't. Once you are done either rip it up or burn it and let them go. 

7. Gratitude Journaling. Gratitude journaling is a fantastic way to focus on finding the positive things during the day which you are grateful for. It is a known fact that if you are focusing on positive things then it is impossible to think negatively at the same time. Get yourself a nice journal style notebook and write in it daily before bed. Write down three things you are grateful for and the reason why. 

8. Yoga. Yoga has many physical and mental health benefits. "Regular yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness; increases body awareness; relieves chronic stress patterns; relaxes the mind; centre attention; and sharpens concentration,” says Dr. Nevins. There is lots of yoga for beginners videos on You Tube. Give it a try. Yoga Nidra is good for relaxation as well.: 

9. Positive Affirmations. Positive affirmations can have a calming effect on anxiety. Replace the negative self talk with some positive affirmations remember, the more you tell yourself something the more you start to believe it. Positive affirmations can be like the following: I chose to fill my mind with positive and healing thoughts, with each breath I chose to exhale fear and inhale strength, there are no mistakes only lessons to be learned and I do the best I can. You can make up your own affirmations and repeat them several times daily. After a while you will see the benefits. 

10) Alternative Therapies: There are various alternative therapies that can help with anxiety and stress. Hypnotherapy, reiki, massage, to name a few. Try a few and find one that resonates with you.