Self-Care that Actually Helps–Joplin, Neosho & Carthage, MO

If you spend any amount of time on social media, you’ll inevitably see a post about self-care. Usually, it’s promoting overconsumption, affiliate links, and luxury lifestyles. But what about the rest of us who don’t have the hours and money for extravagant spa days nor vacations? 

Read below for a therapist’s top tips for no-cost self-care that actually helps.

1. Take a shower. 

Yes, that’s right. Keeping up with your hygiene on a daily basis can improve your mental health. Showers, brushing teeth, and the like are routines that can double as moments of mindfulness. 

Having structured routines and a habit of mindfulness are two of the best no-cost ways to help manage stress, depression and anxiety. 

Mindfulness is any activity that continually brings your awareness to the present moment using your five senses. 

For example, when I take a shower each morning, I turn my full attention to my hygiene routine–I notice the temperature and pressure of the water on my skin, I take a moment to smell my body wash, I listen to the patter of water on the tile. 

Another easy way to practice mindfulness is the way you drink your morning caffeine–notice the smell, the taste, the feel of it in your mouth with no other distractions.

Basic hygiene not only helps you get into a state of mindfulness through structured routines, but it also helps put your mind at ease. No matter what else happens during the day, you are fresh and clean.

2. Take a walk outside.

We all know the many physical benefits of moving our bodies, but it actually helps our mental health, too. 

My husband works for a company that allows him to take a couple walks throughout the day to give his brain a break. This is something real–going on a walk outside can clear  mental fog and stress by resetting your nervous system.

Incidentally, going on a walk is how EMDR therapy (used to treat PTSD) was first conceptualized. While walking, our eyes naturally scan the horizon back and forth. The bilateral movement is thought to help decrease distress and negative feelings in the moment. This is exactly how EMDR therapy works.

Walking outside automatically lowers stress levels and clears our minds, giving a good refresh for the rest of the day.

3. Get 8 hours of sleep every night.

While you’re at it, make sure you are not looking at any kind of screen at least 2 hours before bedtime. Tall order, I know, but screens are detrimental to quality sleep. Maybe it’s time to try a new hobby like knitting or reading.

I used to volunteer with a world-renowned sleep expert, and he told me something that changed my perspective on sleep forever: you can’t “catch up” on sleep. Once it’s lost, it’s lost forever. 

This principle makes getting enough quality sleep every night imperative. Sleep affects all aspects of our lives–our mood, stress, mental load, and overall health.

If you want to practice self-care, maybe start with your sleep. 

4. Eat a nutritious diet.

Slowly but surely, nutrition is becoming a larger piece of the mainstream health puzzle. In fact, the American Psychological Association recently published a book that outlines the link between good nutrition and good mental health. 

Learning how to cook nutrient-dense meals is a self-care tip all on its own. It engages all your senses (flashback to mindfulness) while also engaging most major parts of the brain.

Your mind and body need to be nourished well in order to thrive. Unfortunately, going through the drive-thru for the fifth time this week isn’t going to give your mind and body what it needs.

Meal planning and prepping is a way to care for yourself throughout the entire week. Creating a meal prep habit is another regular routine you can add to your self-care repertoire.

Showering, walking outside, getting enough sleep, and eating well may seem like basic self-care tips, but they are the foundation to all other self-care practices. 

Practicing self-care does not mean you have to spend a lot of money. Whatever you do to care for your overall health is self-care. “Treating yourself” is indulgence, not self-care.

Some valuable forms of self-care do require money, like therapy sessions, a gym membership and regular doctor visits. However, without the foundation of care listed above, you probably won’t reap the full benefits of these other forms of self-care.

Once you have a solid daily routine made of these basic habits, life becomes more manageable and your overall health improves, allowing you more freedom to indulge in the fun things, too.