Self Care Is Self Love
In the past we have talked about the importance of self care. We discussed not only the benefits of self care, but also how and where to begin. In this week’s blog we get specific about a few self care habits, what they do, and how to start. It is never too late to focus on your health. Love yourself enough to take care of your body and mind. If you have not created a resolution this year, consider starting your self care journey by beginning one of these habits this week!
Get Adjusted
Getting consistent chiropractic adjustments is an easy way to facilitate good health as well as practice self care. By receiving adjustments and maintaining proper posture, you are decreasing the load on your spine and surrounding soft tissues like discs, nerves, muscles and ligaments. The nervous system is also allowed to function optimally supplying vital energy to and from the brain to the body and organs. Chiropractic may help give you relief from a number of potential issues; such as: numbness, neck and back pain, headaches, stiffness, decreased energy, poor posture, and even poor athletic performance. Every care plan is different and is based on the patient’s health history.
Schedule a Massage
Massages allow the muscles to relax, be relieved of tension, and is self care at its best! You do not need to get a massage every week, sometimes once a month will do the trick. Try to find the same massage therapist as they will get to know you. Make sure to tell them of any healthcare conditions you may have or if you are pregnant.
Pray or Meditate
Participating in prayer or meditation allows you some personal time to spend with yourself and/or your higher power. It gives you some quiet time to reflect and cultivate new ideas and beliefs. Even just 10 minutes of prayer or meditation can improve your mood or state of mind. So find a quiet place with no distractions and see how quiet you can get your mind for at least 5 minutes. Each time you practice increase the time by a minute. Before you know it you will be a master at quieting and remaining in your head, resulting in clearer thinking and less anxiety.
Talk to a Therapist
In the past, people have looked down on those who receive therapy. It was almost like you had to keep it a secret if you did have a therapist, let alone weekly sessions. However, as we further uncover the importance of mental health, we realize how important and beneficial therapy can actually be. Do not be afraid or ashamed to follow through with a therapy session. Be proud that you are taking the steps to better yourself.
Read
Reading is a way to not only indulge in a good story, but also to learn something new. Whether you enjoy reading fiction or non-fiction, having the habit of reading is beneficial in the sense that you are participating in an activity that does not involve a screen and it involves exercising your brain. Reading may not feel like it is for everyone, but start by reading a page a day of a good book and you will soon find that you can not put it down. Try to avoid reading on your phone or tablet and instead curl up with a good book.
Maintain Healthy Relationships
Have you every heard the saying that you are who you hang out with? Well that statement is entirely true. Reflect back on your current relationships and friendships, do you guys have a lot in common? Maybe you and your friends all enjoy hiking and wine nights or maybe you all enjoy to sit around a table at lunch and gossip about the new drama at work. Whatever the case is, the people you spend the most time with, you start to become. Normally this is not an issue, however, it does become a problem when you start to hang around the wrong people. This can easily begin to bring your own mood down and facilitate your development of unhealthy habits. In order for you to better yourself and clean out your mind, you need to be sure you are surrounding yourself with people who prioritize the same.
Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Sleep is one of the most neglected necessities for some people and without proper sleep you run the risk of developing additional health issues. In order to establish your own sleep habits by first asking yourself how many hours do you need? Some people can function on 6 hours of sleep while others need a full 8 or more. Whatever the case may be for you, establish that understanding and attempt to hit that mark each night. In addition to a sufficient amount of sleep, you need to also be sure you are adopting other sleep promoting habits; no screens 2 hours before bed, sleeping in a dark cool room, limiting distractions, and even participating in relaxation habits prior to sleeping, such as reading. Once you start to identify the areas you need to change, begin incorporating them and you will notice an immediate difference between your quality of sleep and the energy you have the following morning.
Avoid Self Medicating and Self Diagnosing
Our bodies give us signals when it needs attention. In today’s world there is a quick fix for almost anything. It’s easy to just grab something from the medicine cabinet or worse think “it’ll just go away.” These signals can come in the form of a headache, stomach ache, anxiety, stress, pain, and more. While there is a time and place for medications, by constantly doing this you are not only running the risk of injuring your body further, but you are also just masking symptoms not fixing the problem. The chromic overuse of certain medications, especially those classified as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen which is Advil and Motrin, may lead to gastrointestinal issues, fatigue, insomnia and more. Taking these medications is only suppressing the signals your body is giving you and not actually working to solve the problem. If you want to eliminate the usage of over the counter medications, start to examine where your symptoms are coming from.
The best care is self care. Not only are you showing yourself some love but you are also showing your loved ones that you care about them too.
