Mental Self-Care Matters

Above the Shoulder Self Care Tips

Your head is one of the most important parts of your body for many reasons. It's the part of your body that allows you to think and process emotions, and because of this, it's important to maintain a good sense of mental health and emotional self-care.

Your head is also important because it's the part of you that people most often see - your face, ears, eyes, mouth, and so on. Maintaining good physical care of your head is just as important for you as the mental self-care and it actually contributes to you feeling confident and happier when you look in the mirror and present yourself in society.

Facial skin care is a very delicate thing. Many people hate getting pimples or red spots on their face, so it's important to be able to properly nourish your face to avoid getting any blemishes.

It tends to be more difficult than the rest of your body to maintain in terms of skin care, but it shouldn't be too difficult in the long run. The first important step to good facial skin care is cleanliness.

You should be washing your face fairly regularly, at least whenever you wake up and whenever you go to bed. You can buy cleansing scrubs to use that will help get rid of any unwanted oils and contaminates that might lead to blemishes.

You can also use a face mask every now and then to help deep clean your pores and keep your face looking clear and clean. Another aspect of this would be taking good care of your hair.

Some people suffer from greasy hair, dry hair, split ends, and even dandruff. You should be using a shampoo that not only helps with your particular issue, but also conforms to your level of sensitivity.

Some people are fine with harsher shampoos, but others might need something softer and more delicate for their heads. You should also not forget to properly condition and dry your hair, which can make it much smoother and nicer.

Finally, you should be taking good care of your brain through mental self-care. Work something into your daily routine that allows you to sit back and relax to take your mind off of any stress factors that you might encounter throughout the day. This can be key to maintaining a positive mindset and outlook.

No matter what it is that you choose to focus on, you shouldn't abandon the other aspects at any point in time. Just because you're able to focus on one part of your self-care doesn't mean you shouldn't give the other parts a little attention as well.

5 Ways to Engage in Mental Self Care

When it comes to improving your mental health, there are plenty of options that you can follow in order to feel a lot better. One might work better than the other, or some might work equally as well for you.

Keep in mind that one solution that works for someone else might not work for you, so don't be afraid to try multiple options and see what helps your current situation the best. The first way to improve your mental self-care is by meditation.

People often mistake meditation for something spiritual or religious, but it doesn't always have to be. Sometimes, mediation is just a way for you to take your mind off of things, like letting the steam get released from a pressure cooker of stress.

Mediation essentially involves sitting comfortably in silence, not thinking of anything at all, and just letting your body sit still. You can close your eyes in order to prevent yourself from being distracted.

It's important that you don't think of anything and simply let your body relax. Mediation is a great way to reset after a stressful event. Deep breathing is another great option to help you relax, and it can often go hand in hand with mediation, though you can do it at any time.

Deep breathing is exactly what it sounds like. You take long, deep breaths in order to help clear your mind and help yourself feel better. Taking deep breaths lowers your heart rate, which can reduce anxious feelings you might be having.

Deep breathing can be done anywhere at any time, making it an ideal means of self-care if you're out and about in a public setting. Setting boundaries is an important part of caring for your mental health, too.

We often let ourselves get pushed around and trampled on by others, especially when we don't put up proper boundaries. Only allow others to influence your decisions so much before you simply say no.

Don't let others control your life. Put up boundaries that they can't cross that allow you to be you. Receiving affirmations, whether from others or from yourself, can go a long way when it comes to mental health.

Affirmations are essentially just words of praise or encouragement, reminding you that you're doing fine - that everything will be okay - and that you don't need to worry about whether or not you're doing enough.

Such a simple reminder can help you calm down and relax immensely. Finally, visualization can have some incredible effects on you. By actually imagining or visualizing what you need to do or what you want to do, you can get such a clearer image of what needs to be done in your mind.

While a mental checklist works for some, a physical reminder can help so much more. Feel free to doodle your visualization on paper if it helps, or just close your eyes and see the end result so that you can gain the clarity and relief you need to focus without anxiety.

Self-Care Combats Cortisol Overload

Despite most people not knowing what it is, cortisol is a chemical that might be affecting your life negatively every single day without you even knowing it. It sounds like a drug of some kind, but in reality, it's just a natural hormone that your body produces when you get stressed out.

In general, it's meant to help you respond to stressful things and help you work through it. There's a typical fight or flight scenario that your body experiences when cortisol is released.

Now, this doesn't sound so bad at first, and in fact, you really need cortisol to help your brain handle big amounts of stress. Where the problems begin is when your body produces too much cortisol, chronically.

Too much cortisol can lead to your body lashing out and hurting itself in the process of trying to cope with all of the constant stress. In order to lower your levels to the right amount, you need to adopt some kind of self-care program.

In general, your body can respond in a lot of ways, and it can vary from person to person. One common sign you might see is weight gain. People suffering from high cortisol levels often start to gain weight because of it, only leading to more stress.

You might also find yourself with high blood pressure and even a feeling that you're always tired, along with you finding it more difficult to sleep. There are tons of ways that self-care can help you fight back against your high levels of cortisol.

One method is to employ strategies to help you get the right amount of sleep. Staying up too late and waking up late, as well as getting few hours of sleep each night, can result in your cortisol rising to an uncomfortable level, so by taking steps towards a better sleep schedule, you can reduce your feelings of stress.

Relaxation methods that are often employed in self-care routines are also very useful. Doing things to help you immediately relax, drop your blood pressure, and take your mind off of any stressful things in your life can help lower your cortisol levels as well.

These methods are different for everyone, but a simple example would be meditation or even fishing by a calm lake. If you're really dead set on lowering your cortisol levels, you can even go get your saliva tested by a doctor to figure out what times of the day your body produces the most cortisol.

By finding this out and combining it with a self-care strategy centered on that point in the day, you can certainly lower your cortisol for a longer period of time. If your levels are highest in the morning, you'll know that most of your self-care needs to be scheduled at this time of day.

Self-Care Is the Antidote to Chronic Stress

Many people suffer from a wide variety of stress factors today. It can come in so many different forms: internal, external, from school, from work, from relationships, and so on. With so many factors today that can contribute to stress, you might develop chronic stress, meaning that it's constantly occurring.

This can cause both adverse mental and physical effects that can lead to many extra problems on top of the ones you're already dealing with. In order to curb your stress, you need to adopt a self-care routine.

One source of stress that can be helped by self-care is your physical appearance. Your physical appearance can vary in many ways, so there can be a lot of different sources of stress within this category.

For example, you might be unhappy with your fitness progress up to this point. Whether you find yourself overweight or underweight, a significant part of self-help for you could be going to the gym and adjusting your diet.

Others might be more stressed out with their physical appearance for more surface-level reasons. This could be anything from skin complexion and quality to overall attractiveness.

Many people get stressed out when they feel as though they're not looking their best, and by adapting an almost spa-like self-help routine, you can improve your confidence in this area.

You can also improve stress that you harbor in your mind. Mental health is an unforgettable part of self-care. If you want to help your mental health, you can utilize self-care in order to take more time to yourself if you need, improve your insecurities, and so on.

There are many different methods that you can use, so look around and see what works best. For some people, being alone is their best source of relaxation - especially if they get stressed out a lot being in social situations.

Taking time to yourself can allow you to recharge your batteries, and fully digest conversations or situations that you were in, allowing you to better reflect on what you were doing. It also gives you a chance to do some of the things you enjoy.

For others, mental self-care might be more about sitting down and talking through things with people, especially after something that angered, upset, or confused you. This is also really effective for getting rid of stress, because if you just let thoughts and emotions get bottled up, you're more likely to get stressed out fast.

Plan a Mini Retreat to Dive into Self-Care

Sometimes you just need to take a bit of time off for yourself - time where you can be away from any stress factors you might have, and time where you can just relax and take care of some basic needs that you have to fulfill.

It doesn't have to be an extravagant or expensive vacation, though. A small retreat in the comfort of your own home could be just what you need. A mini retreat doesn't require a lot of set up or money.

It just requires a few days at most of free time. You can plan this out in advance to ensure you're actually doing what you set out to do during this time, and it'll benefit you greatly to do so.

Essentially, during your mini retreat, you want to have time to engage in your self-care routine, practice and try out some new self-care, and reflect on what it is you want to see in terms of results.

You want to make sure you're in a somewhat casual environment. Wear comfortable clothes and have some snacks on hand that you enjoy. Play some light background music and build a scene that makes you feel comfortable.

This will help you feel more open and hopeful about your future and help spark ideas of what you want to do to improve yourself. When it comes to planning, you want to make sure you have all the bases covered.

You don't want to just focus on a workout routine. You want to focus on physical health as a whole, while not forgetting about mental health in the meantime. If you only plan for a workout routine but not for a diet, recovery days, or anything related to your mental well-being, you're likely not going to be setting yourself up for a whole lot of success.

During your time, think about the model person that you want to be. Perhaps it's to be more in shape, or maybe it's to be more mentally strong - or even both. Think hard about what that person, a stronger you, would look like and act like, and use that as a basis and a goal that you can formulate your plan around.

Finally, take some time to practice a bit of what you're planning. Don't be afraid to take a few minutes to try out meditation if you're thinking about adding it to your routine. It's always good to have a bit of experience with something before you try to plan your whole schedule around it.

On your mini retreat, make sure you maximize your time and don't allow yourself to get distracted and waste the precious hours you've taken to devote to your own needs. You might have many people pulling you in all directions, but it's important that you block off this time for yourself.