You’ve probably all heard some variation of the saying, “You have to take care of yourself before you can care for anyone else.” How many of you have taken it to heart?
Well, think about it. If you’re barely hanging on by a thread, how do you expect to care for those around you? Sure, you might be able to for a time, but eventually, that thread is going to snap.
So be aware of your mental, physical, and emotional health and take the steps that you need to make sure you can keep moving and thriving instead of simply hanging on.
Stress Management
The world that we live in is so incredibly stressful. It doesn’t matter who you are, we are all stressed out by one thing or another, whether that’s work, school, trying to keep children or pets alive, or trying to keep yourself sane. Stress gets to us all.
So it’s super important to take some steps to manage your stress. Everyone is different, so you’ll need to find what works best for you, but here are some ideas to get you started:
- Take a bubble bath.
- Get a massage.
- Go for a run.
- Eat your favorite snack (in moderation of course).
- Do a puzzle.
- Color in a coloring book.
- Read a book.
- Write in a journal.
- Cook something.
- Do something you enjoy!
Whatever it is that helps you to forget about your worries and just melts the stress away, do that thing on a regular basis so you can keep being the awesome person that you are.
Eating Right
Making sure you are eating right and getting all of the nutrients you need in a day is so hard! Whether eating is part of your stress management technique or you hardly eat at all with how busy life gets, it’s still so important to make sure you are getting the healthy things that you need each day.
Here are some small goals that you can make for yourself to limit the negative things we all put into our bodies and increase the good things:
- Drink more water. I’m not telling you to drink 8 glasses or half your body weight in ounces a day (that’s can be daunting if you don’t drink water often), but try to drink more water than you currently are. Grab a water bottle or glass of water when you are thirsty. When you go out to a restaurant, drink water instead of soda.
- Eat more veggies. This one is hard, especially if you don’t like veggies, but just try to incorporate more vegetables into your current diet. Add some greens with your chicken dinner. Eat some celery and peanut butter or carrot sticks with ranch for a snack. Find simple ways to add in those veggies that you enjoy.
- Take a multivitamin. Our busy lives often force us to rely on convenience over nutrition, so we don’t always get the vitamins we need. Take a multivitamin every day to get those things that you are missing out on.
Body Care
Other than eating right, it’s so important to take care of your body through basic hygiene, doctor’s checkups, and exercise. If you notice aches and pains in your body, go to the doctor for a checkup. If a tooth is hurting, get into the dentist – don’t put it off. Take a shower on a regular basis. Brush your teeth.
These things are so simple, but they often get neglected when we let our stressors manage our lives instead of managing our stressors.
One specific part of the body that often gets neglected is your feet. How much care do we really take with our feet? With how much our feet do for us, we really should pay more attention to them. Give them a massage, bathe them, avoid restrictive footwear. According to easternidahofootcare.com, foot care is especially important if you have diabetes too. So pay attention to your feet and the rest of your body and give it the care that it needs.
