🧰 My Self-Care Toolbox

Self-care is generally defined as the practice of taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional health.

I can’t remember when I first heard the word self-care, but I think it may have been somewhere around 2011 when I was participating in outpatient group therapy. And that would make sense since self-care is a tenet of therapy and mental wellness.

With the state of the world such as it is, it’s not a bad idea to gather a list of way to care for yourself. I like to call this my Self-Care Toolbox, and I think it’s important to note that the things in my toolbox can — and do — change from time to time, similar to how I change.

So, what’s actually in my toolbox? Let’s have a look.

• Meditation: This is a big one. The most important, probably. When I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression at 15, my doctor suggested meditation as a way to slow my mind down and lessen my propensity to worry over things out of my control. I meditate at least three times a day (after waking, mid-day, and before bed), sometimes more. While I used to use Headspace for guided meditations, I now use a combination of those found on Insight Timer and those available in Apple Fitness+. Both are incredibly helpful, and I’d be lost without them.
• Music: This is another big one for me. I don’t leave my house with headphones. I also have earbuds in pretty much all day long, whether I’m actually listening to music or not. It calms my nerves, quiets my mind, and just…improves my mood. I generally listen to rock/metal, but I also love classical and ambient sounds. I love being able to tune out the world around me and just focus on music.
• Reading: I read a lot. That’s no secret. With the way the world is, even the strangest book can offer relief. Sometimes it’s nice to escape into a fictional world for a while, and books are the perfect way to do that. I read a wide selection of things — young adult, memoir/biography, historical fiction — a little of everything. I’ve always been a voracious reader, so of course this is a big piece of my self-care puzzle.
• Exercise: When I need to take care of myself, I turn to yoga or walking. I find both to be incredibly calming and therapeutic when others aren’t around. Walking the river trail near my apartment is one of my favorite things to do when the weather is nice. Each day, I try to walk Finn at least twice a day. I also try to fit a yoga routine in every day, too. I’m no professional and am not super flexible, but I have a range of poses I enjoy. And I always feel better afterward.
• Drawing/Painting: I have a bit of a creative bone, and whenever I’m feeling off, I tend to reach for my sketchbook or my iPad. Whatever comes out, comes out, and that could be a landscape or a portrait, or something entirely abstract. Whatever I end up with is always a little surprising since I never go in knowing what I want to create.

There are other things as well — lesser-used things, I guess you could say. The ones above, though, those are my top five, and without them I’m not sure where I’d be.

So, I guess all of this is to say — Please take care of yourselves. Please.