Right now we need to prioritize self-care. But for a lot of people that feel that they’ve had to look after everybody else and are out for themselves, self-care can seem somewhat selfish. But we can certainly use components of self-care in order to help everybody else around us. So with this in mind at the moment of a global pandemic, what can we do to make sure that everybody within our sphere is properly looked after? But also how can we make sure that we don’t neglect ourselves in the process? It’s a very delicate balance.
Looking After Your Pets
Our pets need plenty of care and attention. And if you’re worried about your canine friends or you have a horse it’s a very tricky situation to be in right now. But the best thing you can do is do what you can for them, and this could mean giving them some treats to keep their morale up. There are suppliers like Equi Supermarket that have already been able to deliver supplies and if you can stock up on supplies for those pets in your life, this is a good idea. Remember that looking after your pets doesn’t mean neglecting them. Take the opportunity right now to go and run around the garden with your dog and spend proper time with your pets. Looking after your pets can prop up the morale of the entire household. As we are going through a very difficult time we can learn that actually having a pet means that they live very simply, something we’re all going to have to adjust to in the coming weeks.
Understanding When You Need Time To Yourself
For most people that are working from home right now, they are undoubtedly trying to get peace and quiet right now which is very difficult if you have children. But at the same time, if you are having to isolate or you need to social distance yourself, understanding that you need some time to yourself can seem a contradiction of terms. Ultimately, spending time by yourself is good to an extent, but also when you realize that you are cooped up in a house with people, everybody can get on top of each other. The most important thing is to realize that you need some time to yourself in order to recuperate or to decompress. This is one aspect of self-care that we can overlook right now. But if we learn to pinpoint those moments when we need a break from everything and just escape into the back garden or sit somewhere where we can be by ourselves, this will have a positive impact. Sometimes we just need to decompress regardless of the situation that is going on.
Looking For Triggers
As we are undoubtedly spending more time with relatives or housemates, we can possibly start to notice a bit more in terms of their well-being, and it’s a good idea right now to look for triggers. Self-care is about looking after ourselves but also if we can start to look after the person next to us and they start to look after us then we are all looking after each other. This means that if we can start to look for triggers that can result in a downward spiral in terms of mental health, we can nip it in the bud. This is a practice that we should all try right now. In terms of triggers, they are so diverse and you will know that when you live with someone that you can spot certain triggers but if they are people that aren’t particularly communicative or receptive to suggestions it is important to keep an eye on them. Yes, this can be stressful for us because we might just be wondering if or when they are going to explode but if we can spend a bit more time looking for the triggers then we won’t necessarily have to exert much more energy further down the line to limit damage control.
Implementing The Right Practices
It is vital right now to keep some semblance of habit. As humans, we all require structure. And this is something that will keep us on the right side of sanity. But right now we’ve got to focus on looking after ourselves, not just in terms of our mental health and our emotional health but also our diet. The right practices can work wonders right now. Taking the opportunity to structure your day accordingly will help to break it up but also make sure that you are incorporating things that you didn’t have the opportunity to do before. For example, if you are are looking to improve your health and happiness, incorporating a 10-minute meditation in the morning and the night is easy to do right now. But it’s something that we should all do regardless of the situation. But when it comes to routine this can certainly help to break up the day but it can also keep us pushing in the right direction. Think about the things that will benefit you right now. If you are worried about something, learning to achieve a sense of perspective can help to alleviate your anxieties. But also, a problem shared is a problem halved. Think about this before you start bottling up emotions.
Understanding how to preserve ourselves is crucial right now but as we have seen so many stories about selfish people out there, it’s important to remember that self-care is a completely different ballpark. It’s about making sure that we can achieve some perspective on a situation and learn to calm down rather than becoming overwhelmed with anxiety. Right now, there are so many different aspects of our lives that need looking after, from our pets to our loved ones to ourselves, that we have got to figure out a comprehensive manner to cover all of them.
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