5 Tips For Self-Care During COVID-19
- Hannah O'Brien
- Aug 30, 2020
- 4 min read
What is self-care?
I think everyone can have their own definition as to what they believe self-care is. Whether it's learning to love your body and providing it with healthy food, starting to meditate to calm your mind, or simply pampering yourself; it's up for interpretation based on a person's individual feelings and perspectives to define it.
My definition of self-care is me working on all aspects of myself and my life from my mind, body and actions; I believe it's important to always be working towards my overall well-being and working on my health and happiness constantly.
I'm not going to lie and say I was one of those people that handled the beginning of quarantine well- from originally being furloughed, moving back home, and generally feeling isolated- I felt like crap. I had planned on 2020 being the year I would make the leap into NYC (I was still currently in CT), with a job I loved.
Long story short - that did not happen. Over the past couple months, I've had to change my mindset from what I had originally envisioned for myself... and for someone that does not like change, this was really hard for me to do. But, instead of choosing to mope around and feel sorry for myself on how things have changed, I chose to work towards taking care of myself and improving all aspects of my life.
My advice to you is, It's never too late to wake up one morning and change your mindset about you and your life, or decide to start taking better care of yourself. Just start. It's worth it.
5 Tips For Self-Care
Just because 2020 started off lame, doesn't mean you have to live in a gloomy state of mind until the pandemic is over and the world goes back to its old "normal" ways.
This is how I've been working on myself and making the best of the year so far:
1. Stay Active
The way I view working out is that it's a form of therapy for me. No matter how stressed out or moody I am, working out has always been a way for me to destress and clear my mind. Although, I've always been someone to keep active, I can tell you now that my workouts over the years have completely changed. I went from training 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day with intensive workouts as a swimmer and eventually being recruited by schools for my sport, to doing Chloe Ting ab workouts in my living room and going for a 3/4 mile "walk/run"; and yet my body and mind still feels great afterwards despite the drastic changes.
What I'm trying to say by this is that as time goes on and your life evolves, learn what your body needs to make it feel good. Don't be hard on yourself if things have changed from how they used to be. No matter what way you choose to stay active, you're doing something great for your body and mind.
2. Eat Healthy
For me, eating healthy is one of the best ways I can take care of myself. Waking up and starting my day with healthy food choices always sets me up for a better day. I feel more energized, happier, and overall healthier when choosing the right things to put into my body.
I do believe eating healthy comes with balance. This is even hard for me to abide, especially as a woman in a society that women are encouraged to have that "perfect" body while it's literally a trend for guys to have a "dad bod", but don't feel guilty treating yourself every once in a while. If you've eaten healthy all week and then choose to go out for lunch with your friends, it's okay to enjoy your meal. Self-care in reference to eating healthy for me, is having a good relationship with food whether it's your everyday healthy choices or that cookie you're allowed to have, guilt-free. Learn what your body needs and fuel yourself to feel good throughout the day.
3. Motivate Yourself
I'm not really sure how to explain this to someone because motivation to me, is something that you'll want to need to do for yourself despite what anyone tries to say to you. All I'll say is that you do deserve the best for yourself. The only one holding yourself back from your goals, is you. Don't make up excuses or get down in a world full of obstacles- this happens to everyone. If the world was only filled with "yeses" and positivity, I'd literally be the queen of England.
In all, just know that motivating yourself is the best way to show yourself love and create the best version of yourself. #corny
4. Treat Yourself
It's okay to treat yourself in anyway that you wish to. If you decide taking a candlelit bath with a face mask on, or sipping on a glass of wine is what you need to feel good that night- do it. Self-care isn't always about improving yourself as much as it is maintaining yourself. Make your body and soul happy and pamper yourself.
Example A, is me literally buying 4 million new shirts and clothes this week to feel good about myself when I go out and get dressed up... maybe I'm excessive but oh well. I'm happy.
5. Clean Out Clutter
My space reflects my current mood- which usually consists of clothes and shoes everywhere. Yeah, most of the time my mind is spinning with hundreds of different thoughts and things I have to do but when I do declutter my space, I really do think it declutters my mind.
In conclusion, my advice to you is to get your sh*t together. :)
Listen to your mind and body when it's feeling off and work on taking care of yourself as needed. It may be hard in the beginning to find the motivation but continuous self-care in the long run is beyond worth it.
xoxo,
Han
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