By Haley Heisley

Beyond massages and bubble baths, face masks and painting your nails – self care is not just a day at the spa, but so much more that goes into practicing self care physically and mentally. Learning that International Self-Care Day was coming up this July 24, I was so excited to look into it even more. I always look forward to finding the best skin care products, taking a hot shower after the long work week, and wearing a new set of pajamas bundled up in clean bedding while listening to meditation music so this topic is very important to me.

Lately, mental health has been stressed more than ever before and I am an advocate for it myself. You cannot show up 200% in every aspect of life if your physical and mental health is not at 100%. To focus, think clearly, perform your greatest, and stabilize your mood you need to remember to take care of yourself. 

Listed below are many ways we can practice self care easily that I have incorporated into my daily routine.

Aromatherapy
Essential oil scents are proven to boost your mood, reduce stress, improve job performance, improve sleep, kill bacteria, and even reduce anxiety and pain. My go-to essential oils to put into my aroma diffuser is lavender oil to help stress, pain, and sleep, peppermint oil to help with digestion, fatigue, and headaches, and lemon oil to help with nausea, anxiety, and cognitive function.

Physical Activity & Exercise
Exercise improves mood by reducing stress, and alleviating symptoms one experiences of anxiety and depression. Physical activity nonetheless manages your weight, strengthens your muscles, and reduces risk of disease.

Writing
The mental exercise of writing helps wellness of the individual in many aspects including making you feel accomplished, recovering memories, and getting you to think about your perspective on life which aids in self care and also self growth. Writing also helps your communication, reduces stress, and better thought clarification. 

Diet
A healthy diet is not only good for your physical health, but also for your mental health as well. Both your physical and mental health tie into self-care, which makes your diet a very vital part of taking care of ourselves. Some foods I have discovered through my University’s Nutrition Course I took that I have incorporated into my diet lately are:

• Lean proteins (soybeans, nuts, seeds, chicken, meat): energy for cognitive abilities and reactions.
• Fatty acids (fish, meat, flaxseeds, nuts): brain function and nervous system benefits.
• Berries are rich in antioxidants and are a crucial helper with our mental health.
• Leafy Greens are high in folic acid which can help manage depression and fatigue.

Meditation
By playing meditation sounds in the background, deep breathing in efforts to clear your mind before bed, or even playing guided meditations on youtube – meditation can be done easily in so many ways. The benefits of meditation is it is a stress reducer, helps to control anxiety, promotes attention span, can help in fighting addictions, and it promotes emotional health.

Other ideas of practicing self care that I have tried are:

• Coloring in adult coloring books.
• Listening to my favorite songs.
• Taking walks in nature.
• Reading books and magazines.
• Using workbooks that prompt writing exercises/deep thinking.
• Drinking PLENTY of water.
• Sitting in the sunlight and get time outside each day.

No matter what self-care exercises you decide to perform today whether if it is on my list or not, I encourage you all to partake in at least one per day to find out what works best for you. Some of these felt so useless in my mind, until I actually gave them a try and ended up loving each and every one. In a world with tons of hustle and bustle and stress, self care is a vital practice to incorporate into our schedules no matter how busy we may be all it takes is to even wake up simply 5 minutes earlier in the morning to even deep breathe and meditate.