We all get tired sometimes.
We live in a noisy world. There is so many things that are trying to tell us who we should be instead of making us comfortable with who we are. From persuasive beauty ads to negative friendships, the list is nearly endless. Everybody has an expectation of you and it can drive you crazy trying to satisfy each one. That’s when its time to take a step back and look out for yourself.
It’s not selfish either. If you’re not emotionally functioning, you’re only hurting those closest to you, most of all, yourself. Sometimes self-care can be downright necessary, especially when it comes to negative influences in your life. Maybe a toxic relationship is distracting you from what’s important in life. Perhaps you’re getting burned out from work and simply need to take a break. Whatever the case may be, eventually, you have to take responsibility for your personal emotional health. More importantly, the people around you will love you more for it. If they are truly there for you, they will observe that you need that time and energy to recover so you can enjoy life with them.
A failure to take care of your emotional state can have seriously destructive ripple effects. Drinking, smoking, drug usage, unhealthy sex, and many other increasingly risky behaviors are just a few examples. Learning how to properly cope is important.
Here are ten ways to perform positive self-care. As a reminder, these aren’t strictly the only methods of helping yourself. Personally, I advise doing whatever helps you heal and recover — just make sure it’s coming from a positive place. These are just suggestions to help those in need of it. Finally, these are not listed in any particular order so simply do which ever method suits you.
- Slow down — It’s okay to hit the brakes and get your shit together. Whether it’s in the workplace, relationships, the gym or any area of life, if you need to switch up the pace, do it! For example, If you work a job that requires working a lot of hours, then slow the work pace. Ask for less tasking, let your co-workers assist you in your duties, or if possible, just accept less hours. Do whatever you can to get back on track.
- Allow your network to help you — Everybody wants to be strong on their own, but there’s going to be…
