Focus for This Month
September is Self-Care Month
What is Self-Care
Self–Care Awareness Month in September is a time to remind us that taking care of ourselves, first, is essential. Self-care is often neglected in our everyday lives. We often tend to put others' needs before our own while neglecting the basic self-care we all need to help others.
It is something that everyone can benefit from practicing on a daily basis. True self-care is not self-centered. Neither is it selfish. It is simply paying attention to how you feel in each moment, communicating clearly, speaking up for yourself, and saying yes or no without guilt.
How can We Practice Self-care
Self-care can be as simple as a conscious breath in the morning or as luxurious as time away from the pressures of everyday life. The kindness we show towards ourselves will manifest into a kinder world.
See things from a new perspective. Our perceptions are affected by our generation, family codes, beliefs, experiences, society, culture, education and so on. These perspectives also come from old wounds or things that we have been hurt by in the past. Anything that you believe with absolute certainty is rarely true. Rethink your perspective.
Advocate for yourself! You may have spent most of your life taking care of the needs of others - whether they liked it or not. You may have even felt unappreciated and eventually, taken advantage of. Try being as kind to yourself as you are to everyone else.
Trust yourself and others. Worrying is a lack of trust. It can be mistaken for caring when really it is a lack of trust or faith that another can exist without our help or interference. Can you trust others to know what is best for them or do you think you have the answers to make their lives better?
Send snail mail. Make a card yourself, or grab some stationery or a greeting card, personalize it, put a stamp on it, and send it to someone to show gratitude. They will absolutely love it.
Stop getting junk mail - electronic or regular. Here's a link to help you do that, too. From an email perspective, simply hit UNSUBSCRIBE at the end of the email. International law now requires the option to be included on all advertising type email.
Vacuum, sweep, and dust all the nooks and crannies. I absolutely love the feel and peace that comes with a clean house. Even burn a little incense or scented candle. Yes the store-bought Febreze or Airwick works too.
Get yourself a little treat. No, there is nothing better than an iced coffee or a little candy bar at the gas station. Nothing fancy or expensive, even a bag of cheetos - which is my favorite treat-me.
Take an intentional break from the news. You can also turn off the political ads in your social feed if you don't want to constantly be bombarded with that type of information. Setting boundaries in all areas of your life is an absolute necessary process for self-care and overall mental wellbeing.
This is one I learned from my mom. Take an epsom salt bath. Epsom salts break down into magnesium and sulfate in water and help with stress relief, inflammation, and sore muscles.
