50 ways to practice self care when your mental health is crap

hbstudy:

1. Snuggle an animal.

2. Pet others animals in public… with permission.

3. Say yes to a meal with a friend you love dearly.

4. Take a sick day from work. Don’t feel bad about it.

5. Dust a book off your shelf and read it. Or, at least read a few pages.

6. Go to work, do your best, and tell someone you’re struggling.

7. Take frequent breaks at work, even if they’re just to take a deep breath in the bathroom.

8. Read body positive blogs like the Fuck It Diet, Love, Food, and Bawdy Love.

9. Make yourself a cup of your favorite flavor of warm tea.

10. Make yourself tea, then add a bunch of ice cubes to the cup. Feel the sensations of the temperature.

11. Sit outside and stare at the sky. Lay in the grass if you can.

12. When your attention spans lasts 5 minutes, be okay with coming back inside.

13. Say no to someone asking you to do something you don’t want to do.

14. Avoid toxic people while you’re hypersensitive. Sometimes this means family.

15. Say no to events that will trigger you.

16. Be ok with many nights feeling like you’re acting selfishly by saying no.

17. Ask a friend if you can come crash on their couch and have a slumber party.

18. Bring popcorn and fuzzy socks to said slumber party.

19. Cook a simple meal from scratch with one of your favorite ingredients. (I made cardamom baked pears recently- YUM and super easy)

20. Do some therapeutic writing. Prompts can be found through a quick google search.

21. Donate books you don’t read anymore.

22. Workout for 15 minutes.

23. Don’t work out.

24. Don’t beat yourself up about not working out.

25. Mindfully eat a meal.

26. Totally un-mindfully scarf down a bunch of sweets. (I’ve been really into vegan ice cream lately).

27. Stop reading a book that you started and feel obliged to finish.

28. Pick up a new book that you’re excited about.

29. Only do exercise that makes your body feel good. (For me, simple stretching is all sometimes.)

30. Avoid exercises you think you “should” be doing. (Cycling hurts my knees. I hate cycling. I don’t do it).

31. Take “should” out of your vocabulary entirely. Quit “shoulding” on yourself.

32. Tell your partner how they can best support you.

33. Tell your roommate how they can best support you.

34. Donate clothes that taunt you or that you no longer wear.

35. Go to Goodwill and find a lovely outfit that fits great.

36. Take a nap. Don’t set an alarm.

37. Lower your expectations of yourself. Be ok with being mediocre right now.

38. Go to a 12 step meeting or a support group.

39. Call or text an old friend to meet up over a cup of coffee.

40. Buy a coloring book and some crayons. Color away.

41. Practice a 3 minute guided meditation.

42. Do a Pinterest DIY project with an old shirt that no longer fits.

43. Laugh if said Pinterest project ends up disastrous (mine usually do).

44. Binge watch Netflix. Watch a show that’s silly and not too emotional.

45. Throw your to-do list in the trash for a day.

46. Go for a gentle stroll.

47. Blast music that matches your mood (for me, this is often Slipknot or Katy Perry interchangeably).

48. Make a gratitude list about things you’re grateful for in your life.

49. Make a gratitude list about body parts of yours you’re grateful for and why.

50. Put on some nice scented lotion.