This week is mental health awareness week and we think it’s a great platform to check in and see if your mental health is something that you have been prioritising.
“the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health”
Oxford Dictionary
Self care is the activities or practices that support our physical, emotional and mental health. Contrary to the ‘treat yo self’ mentality, self care doesn’t have to be expensive or lavish. This mentality has contributed to self care often being considered an added luxury or indulgent, meaning a lot of us don’t leave time to practice or prioritise it. To be the best for yourself and those around you, we need to make it a regular part of our daily lives.
Here are some tips we find helpful in getting self care into our days:
Move your body
Exercise may help with feelings of anxiousness by reducing the activity of the fight or flight response within the body. Our favourite ways to move include pilates, going for a walk, riding a bike and going to the gym for a strength training session.
Make time to rest
Our culture over values being busy and this can often lead to the detriment of proper rest. Rest allows our body to slow down, calm a busy nervous system and promote appropriate healing and body system connection. Our favourite ways to rest include reading with a coffee in bed, grounding in nature and putting a face mask on with our favourite movie.
Cuddling a pet
When you give your furry friend a cuddle it may help with decreasing our stress hormone cortisol, dampening our stress response. Our furry friends include Lenny a staffy cross, Blue a staffy, Izzy a beagle cross and Nigel a domestic shorthair cat.
For more tips on self care and ways to enhance your mental health head across to the smiling mind blog, the black dog institute and the RUOK day websites.
If you’re concerned about your mental health and are looking for additional support, lifeline australia 13 11 14 or text 0477 131 114 and beyond blue 1300 224 636 are here for you.