It’s been a hard year, a hard month, and a hard week (and it’s *only* Tuesday!). Check out some of our favorite self-care tips below to stay centered, calm, and a little more OK.
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Our tip: Control exercise. Write down your top concerns and worries right now. Tease apart what’s worthy of your energy and attention by asking yourself: “Is this something that is or is not within my control?” Sometimes, there will be aspects of one event that are within your control and aspects that are not, so write down both in a separate column. The former you can address. The latter? You need to let that sh*t go. If it’s difficult, write the things that don’t concern you on a separate piece of paper. Read it, scrunch it up and chuck it in the bin. There’s a reason why ex-boyfriend burning parties are a thing (burning of their stuff, not the ex-boyfriend themselves); it’s cathartic.
You Are Positively Awesome
Stacie Swift
Publishing November 17!
Our tip: What do your boundaries look like? Fill in a chart (or the rainbow arc below!) with the values and limits you would like to assert. Examples of values could be social, mental, emotional, or anywhere you’d like to practice better boundaries!
The Ayurvedic Self-Care Handbook
Sarah Kucera
Our tip: Be with nature. Fancy spas and retreat centers are situated in beautiful settings for a reason. Nature feels like an escape and can be instrumental in healing. It signals us to slow down, but also reminds us that we are a small part of something much greater. For urban dwellers, finding a nearby park or grassy knoll is wonderful, but even a stroll in your concrete jungle works. These little efforts add up and help you feel like you’re closer to your surroundings, putting your own personal matters into perspective.
The More or Less Definitive Guide to Self-Care
Anna Borges
Our tip: Celebrate small victories. Listen, sometimes doing your laundry or speaking up for yourself *is* a big deal. Instead of brushing things off for being small potatoes or beating yourself up for things you think should be easier, let yourself feel good about the little ways you show courage and resilience every day. That could mean patting yourself on the back, treating yourself to a small gift, or even drawing up a little DIY reward you can tack to your bulletin board.
The Mindfulness Coloring Book Series: Anti-Stress Art Therapy
Emma Farrarons
Our tip: Color the stress away! Don’t take our word for it: Head to the Mindfulness Coloring Series page to download sample pages from all our books, including our newest addition, The Mindfulness Creativity Coloring Book!
The Art of Showing Up
Rachel Wilkerson Miller
Our tip: Don’t look down. When you’re in crisis, there will likely be a lot of big, scary, stressful tasks on your path forward. There will also be a lot of hypothetical questions that make you want to throw up (e.g., “How will I ever introduce future dates to my children?” after a divorce). Thinking about the amount of work—logistical and emotional—that you’re going to have to do can be panic inducing. There will be a handful of top-level tasks that you truly need to handle ASAP without thinking too much about them. But once you’ve taken care of the urgent stuff, there’s a limit to what you’ll be able to do next. It’s very easy to spin out over of dozens of imagined “someday” scenarios that may or may not ever happen. Should you find yourself in this spot, try to remember this mantra: Don’t look down. Instead, take one step. Then take another. Instead of thinking about the next year, maybe let yourself think only about the next month. With practice, you’ll be able to limit your thinking to just the next week. Finally, you’ll be able to focus on just the next twenty-four hours.
