How Self-Care Boosts Mental Health (and Activities to Try)

How Self-Care Boosts Mental Health (and Activities to Try)

Many people struggle to justify squeezing self-care into a busy schedule, especially if they have family or work responsibilities that they feel take priority. However, self-care is crucial for managing your mental health.

If you’re wondering how self-care makes a difference or want some activities to try, Real Vegas magazine explains what you need to know.

How Self-Care Benefits Mental Health

In the simplest sense, self-care involves taking some time to focus on your needs. Whether it’s simply giving yourself a break from the daily stresses or taking time to improve your physical, mental, or emotional wellbeing, it can potentially count.

While occasionally skipping self-care may not be problematic, always putting yourself second (or third, or fourth) comes with consequences. Tiny Buddha notes that you might experience burnout or excess fatigue.

By prioritizing self-care, you’re not just avoiding those outcomes; you’re prioritizing your mental health. Self-care can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Plus, it creates opportunities to care for not just your mind but your body, leaving you better equipped to face typical stressors.

Self-Care Activities for Busy People

Home Matters

Good Housekeeping points out that taking the time to turn your home into a fresh and vibrant space can relieve tension, allowing it to serve as a form of self-care. If your family is arguing, decluttering, cleaning, and letting in some fresh air could help you inject positivity into the home. One option is to downsize your belongings as a way to clear the clutter from your home and mind is by temporarily storing them elsewhere. If you have items you just can’t part with, you’ll find benefits of a storage unit where you can put things until you’re ready to decide if you can let them go. Decluttering is especially important when it comes to your bedroom, as quality, adequate sleep is crucial to one’s mental and physical health.

A home gym or exercise room is another great idea, as the convenience of having a dedicated area for regular physical activity is always available. This doesn’t have to break the budget, as getting in good cardio and strength training can be as simple as using a step machine or resistance bands. If you do need to invest in workout equipment be sure to do your research online for honest and reliable home product reviews so you can get the best bang for your buck. The Safe Smart Family website is a great start.

You can also utilize your home’s equity and refinance to free up some cash. This extra influx of money can then be used to reinvest in your home with upgrades like new landscaping, repainting a few rooms, a home gym, or a home office, to name just a few ideas. That, or you could go on that much-needed vacation.

Stop Doomscrolling

Obsessive doomscrolling is bad for your mental health. It can lead to the release of stress hormones. Plus, it takes time away from activities that could make you happy. Instead of using social media to remain up-to-date with current happenings, get your news another way. That way, you can stay informed without getting caught up in an infinite scroll.

Take Time to Meditate

It may sound cliche, but meditation – especially if you can incorporate a few minutes of a good message – can help you refocus your mind, reorganize your thoughts, and refresh yourself overall to better face the day. Here’s the best part: you don’t need a lot of time to meditate. In fact, as little as 10 to 20 minutes each day can help you develop a more positive outlook on life, as well as help you reduce stress. There are many apps, websites, and video tutorials that can help you get started.

Ditch Your Scale

Many people equate their weight with health. While that can be true to a degree, a scale only tells part of the story, making it an unfair way to judge your health. Plus, weigh-ins can become a source of anxiety, particularly if you get focused on a “perfect” number. That’s why ditching the scale can be a form of self-care. It lets you turn your attention to other health indicators while removing a major stressor.

Say Goodbye to a Bad Job

Few things are as exhausting as a job you despise. Of course, as Aetna explains, it’s always important to learn how to relax after work, but sometimes it’s difficult to leave the stress at the workplace. While it may create a financial hardship, leaving a job you no longer like can be self-care if the situation is genuinely dire. If job stress leaves you anxious or irritable, it’s often time to move on, so use those symptoms as a signal. Then, start looking for something new right away, allowing you to head in a new direction as quickly as possible.

Fix That One Small Thing

Has a lightbulb in your house been out for ages, and it gets under your skin every time you see it? Is there a button you’ve meant to sew back onto your favorite shirt, but you keep forgetting until you get dressed? Is there another small thing that’s been nagging at you on and off for ages? If so, take the time to do it. It’s a straightforward way to remove a stressor from your life, making it the perfect self-care for a busy person.

Following these tips, it’s easy to see how self-care can make a difference in your life. So, ditch your scale, make changes to your home (or find a new one), and look into meditation. The best part is that you can start as soon as now!

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