Self-care is about having the courage, tenacity, and resilience to take responsibility for your health and well-being. It’s a lifestyle where we recognise and honour our self-worth by engaging regularly and consistently in strategies that empower us to live our best lives.

If there is something my breakdown and suffering has taught me, it was the importance of paying regular attention to my physical, psychological, and spiritual needs. And by that, I don’t mean a one-time self-care experience every time we are already feeling exhausted or ill.

Taking care of ourselves should not be seen as an occasional act, it should be regular practice added into our daily routine. Today I will be sharing with you 40 self-care ideas for mind, body and lifestyle. I hope you find this post most helpful.

Loving others is important, but don’t forget to love yourself

Self-care is a concept about maintaining a healthy relationship with yourself. Sometimes we try to meet the needs of everyone around us but forget about ours. But what self-care means, is to be conscious about our own needs, both physical and mental. Eating well, exercising regularly, meditating, journaling. These are all examples of self-care actions.

Self-care is so important in improving our wellbeing and the quality of life. When practicing self-care, we do whatever is good to our body and mental health. This helps us avoid fatigue, stress, anxiety, and worry. To put it simply, self-care makes us feel content, refreshed and happy.

The ultimate goal of self-care is to maintain a good physical and mental health. With this, we will be more able to help and support others and therefore we will have more healthy relationships with those around us. Self-care also teaches us to give ourselves a break off from the tiring work. This might also help us to attain a work-life balance.

Why is self-care so important?

This seems like a no-brainer. But so many people forget how neglecting self-care damages other areas of our life – until it actually happens. With energised minds and bodies, we can, first of all, be more productive. You can get more done in less time, and in turn have more hours left for the things you love. As you can see, a good kind of a self-perpetuating cycle grows out of making your wellness and emotional contentedness a priority.

Through these activities/through patterns/habits, you make sure you live as your best self, rather than just exist. Cheesiness ahead warning, but why are so many of us concerned about making ‘enjoying life’ a frequent, rather than an occasional treat?! Focusing on wellbeing and happiness now prevents burnout from creeping up on you and throwing your health and stress levels out of control. You should never feel bad about making yourself a priority, and inspires you to take action accordingly.

Make self-care a routine

One of the best ways to reach a goal or form any habit is through consistency and regular practice. The same thing applies to self-care. In your calendar, try blocking out ‘non-negotiable’ self-care times. How frequent and how long these are depending on your lifestyle.

For example, you might pick thirty minutes before bed every night to journal and read a few chapters of a book. You might want to spend Sunday afternoons getting out into nature, or meditate for five minutes every morning. For me, working out, reading and meditation makes up my self-care morning routine. This is the perfect way to nourish my body and mind alike.

So, after consistently dedicating 1+ hours every morning 5-6 times a week to it, the routine feels effortless and I feel the benefits afterwards each time. This will give you a more concrete plan of action than just wishing for some spare time to appear, and also something to look forward to as a way of recharging yourself!

Depression and routine – why’s it so important?

Ok, now you know why self-care in general is important, what’s the significance of having a self-care routine for depression or any mental health issue? Basically, routines tell our brain and body we’re safe. Think about it for a second, if you are massively stressed or in danger you don’t do the same things every day because you’re dealing with stress or a dangerous situation.

The disruption in routine acts as a signal that all is not well. A signal we really don’t want to give our brains when we have depression. Therefore, routines are really important because they do the opposite, they signal to our brains that everything is well and we don’t need to worry. Which is exactly what we want – a nice, relaxed brain equals a happy life.

40 Self-Care Ideas for Mind, Body & Life Balance!

Here we have some ideas to help you practice self-care. Get cracking right now!

10 self-care ideas for the body

1. Take a few deep breaths. Get yourself oxygenated. Breath into your abdomen and breath out the air from your stomach and chest.
2. Go for a walk under sunshine. Especially when it’s cold. The warmth from the glowing sun often makes people feel better.
3. Run for a few minutes. Let yourself sweat. It’s the easiest way to exercise.
4. Take a quick nap. 10 to 20 minutes will do. Make up your sleep debt.
5. Have a good laugh. Watch a comedy or have a nice chat with great friend.
6. Look at the green and the blue. Grassland. Ocean. They do good to our eyes and clam our body.
7. Wake up at 6. Enjoy the morning breeze and the slow pace.
8. Make a small change to your diet. Drink an extra glass of water, or have a vegetarian meal. Do a body detox.
9. Have a massage. Incorporate essential oils for your massage. Remove your tiredness and let your skin breathe.
10. Be still for a few minutes. Let your body rest. Stay still. Breathe slow. Move slow.

10 self-care ideas for the mind

1. Take another route to work. Breaking your routine in small ways makes your ordinary day special.
2. Wander in the city. Discover the other side of the city. Look for its beauty you have never noticed.
3. Unplug for an hour. Switch everything to airplane mode. Disconnect from the technology. Bring yourself back to basics.
4. Get out of your comfort zone. Do something you have never done before. Like talking to a stranger.
5. Keep a journal. Write down your thoughts and whatever you find interesting. Record your day with words.
6. Practice Mindfulness/Meditation. These practices are excellent for calming the mind.
7. Practice gratitude. When you learn to appreciate the small things, you soon realise how much you have in life.
8. Buy something new for the house. Refresh your home. Make it bright and new.
9. Go cloud-watching. Relax and watch the sky. Perhaps with a bottle of fresh fruit juice.
10. Do a mini-declutter. Recycle something from your house that you barely use.

10 self-care ideas for work-life balance

1. Take a random day off. Have a day off without any planning or purpose. Just to be off from work.
2. Plan for a weekend holiday. Go for a short trip. Escape from the routine.
3. Get to work early. Avoid the rush hour. This also means you might be able to leave work early.
4. Leave work early. Enjoy some free time when the sun is still there.
5. Eat lunch away from your office. Take a little break. Breathe some fresh air.
6. Have a small chat. Talk about something other than work. This makes your time at work less dull.
7. Turn off work-related email notification. Make off-hour really off-hour.
8. Wear your favourite outfit to work. Boost your happiness by a smart and refreshing appearance.
9. Have some healthy snacks. Supply energy to your body.
10. Listen to soft music. Relieve your stress with a soft background music.

10 self-care ideas for healthy relationships

1. Speak out your thoughts. Don’t be afraid to say what you really think. No one will understand you unless you speak out.
2. Tell others your expectations. People might fail you. But it’s fine to let them know so that both of you can adjust.
3. Say NO sometimes. If saying yes makes you feel bad.
4. Honour your emotions. Admit them and never try to hide them. They are gifts.
5. Minimise people-pleasing. Unless that’s what you really want to do. You have no responsibility to please anyone.
6. Free from restrictions imposed by others. Take them as advice instead of commands. You’re the only one who is in control of your body and mind.
7. Be open to new things. Don’t be afraid that changes will make you into a different person. Perhaps they lead to a better you.
8. Share your past. No matter it’s wonderful or awful. It’s your past which makes you who you are today.
9. Be patient to others and yourself. Everything takes time. It takes time to quit a habit or to change something. Don’t rush.
10. Leave some room for yourself. No matter what kind of relationship you are in, the most important one is the relationship with yourself. Work on it.

40 Self-Care Ideas for Mind, Body & Balance – Final thoughts

Unfortunately, there is no magic wand that will bring us immediate peace and total relaxation during trying times like these, but if you slowly and consciously make healthy choices for yourself, it will start to pay off. Show yourself some compassion and by treating your body and mind kindly, you are bound to feel better.

Do you have any self-care rituals that you love? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear what works for you. If you have any other questions, please reach out to me via adam@adam-lawrence.org. I would love to hear from you. I really hope you found inspiration in this post.

Adam

Hello! My name is Adam and welcome to my space on the internet. Here you can find me writing about subjects such as spiritual growth, self-discovery, wellbeing, addiction recovery and mental health. Please connect with me on my journey and join the community!