6 Uplifting Self Care Ideas That Will Change Your Life

Simple and uplifting self care ideas that will change your life. Whether you are struggling with daily stresses or a mental illness self care is important for everyone.

Mental illness has been a part of my life for well, my entire life. I open up about my story for Mental Health Awareness Month on Instagram. It has caused me to experience very low lows and although I have found ways to keep it at a manageable level I know I will carrt it for the rest of my life.

When the lowest of lows came, I was forced to reach out for help. It was so scary to admit that I had a serious problem but ultimately that is how I learned the coping skills that I use today. Not only did I learn coping skills but I realized how little I practice self-care.

In my mind, I took great care of myself! Exercising regularly, eating healthy (for the most part, unless there is ice cream or Mac and cheese in sight), and having hobbies but I wasn’t taking care of myself in other ways.

Self-care is often talked about in terms of relaxing, like a spa day a massage or bingeing a favorite show which are all amazing ways to practice self-care, but I also think self-care can be a mindset. Reminding yourself how amazing you are, telling yourself that you are awesome every day until it sticks.

These mindset tools are things that I have learned to practice in my everyday life that have helped me and I am sharing them in hopes that they will help you or even just inspire to try something new in the search for what works for you. Everyone is different, which means self care will look different for everyone.

Positive affirmations

Practicing positive affirmations has been a game-changer for me. We can be so mean to ourselves. Our internal voice can lie to us and say things that are not true. Have you ever had thoughts like “I am never going to be able to do this, I am not smart enough” or “I am so awkward, I don’t know how I have any friends” (I have said that one to myself more times than I can count) Sound familiar?

These are all lies that our internal voice tells us. We are our worst critics! When these thoughts come into your head, combat them with a positive affirmation. For example; if your thought is “I am never going to be able to do this, I am not smart enough” you can combat that with “I am capable, smart and I always try my best”

It takes time but positive affirmations can rewire your brain to find the positive and you will start believing the positive things you tell yourself. You can also practice positive affirmations before the negative thought even arrives. Start your day by telling yourself that you are strong, beautiful, caring, a badass, etc.

One last thing. It can feel uncomfortable to say these things if you don’t believe them. My stomach would turn every time I told myself I was beautiful because I didn’t think that I was. Push through those feelings and force the affirmation. Over time those uncomfortable feels will be less and less.

“Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t, pretend that you do and, at some point you will” - Venus Williams

Relax Your Way

Relaxing will always be a go-to self-care practice. It is a must! Finding time to slow down is so important for the body and the mind. Most relaxation suggestions are, take a bath, meditate, have a spa day, etc. Don’t get me wrong those are all great things (I love a good spa day!) but I think relaxing can come in many different forms. 

If all you want to do is watch your favorite tv show with no interruptions, do it! If you want to clean the whole house because clutter makes you anxious, do it! If you want to meditate to soothing music, do it! If you want to jam out to some upbeat music and dance around the house, dooooo it!

Have you ever seen the show Life in Pieces? In one episode, Jen a busy mother is told by her therapist mother-in-law to try meditation. She hates it and ends up playing games on her phone the entire time. She continues to “meditate” when really she is just taking the time to get away and play some games.

It cracked me up because although I believe in the power of meditation, it has never been easy for me. Sometimes we just have to play games on our phones because that is what is relaxing at that moment. There is a time to disconnect and meditate and then there is a time to just play some games.

Three Positive Things

Reminding yourself of the positive can be a really powerful self-care practice. It is so easy to be consumed by the things that are not going right in your life. The day-to-day stresses can become overwhelming and you can find yourself living in that negative space.

At the end of each day, while laying in bed, while you are making dinner, or better yet, while you are at the dinner table with your family, pick three positive things that happened that day. List them in your head or out loud and feel the positivity of those things.

• They can be any positive thing such as…
• Today I arrived to work on time
• I finished the laundry today
• That short walk today was so nice
• I caught up on my emails
• My idea was used at work

Just as positive affirmations rewire your brain so does this! It takes time and some days it feels so hard to find a positive thing, but the great thing about this practice is it can be anything that feels positive. Some days it might be that you got out of bed, or that the sun was out, and that is okay.

Growth Mindset

This is a big one for me. It is easy to get stuck in our bad habits or be convinced that we cannot grow and improve in certain areas. We will not improve unless we seek out growth. Sometimes that means putting ourselves out there and doing things that are scary which is usually the reason why we don’t do it.

Trying new things, identifying the things that we want to improve on and forcing ourselves out the our comfort zone all promote growth. With growth comes confidence and the feeling of self worth. All good things. Growth doesn’t happen over night though and I think that is why it is important to practice a growth mindset. Start small. Have you always wanted to get better at public speaking? Try a few at home lessons before taking a class.

Identify areas where you would like to grow. Any areas that you shy away from because it stresses you out is usually a good indicator that growth is needed. Take baby steps to get yourself out of that comfort zone. Once you have taken a few baby steps you may feel more comfortable taking a bigger step.

Exercise

Okay, so I had to put it in here. Exercise is so good for you! Not just physically but mentally. Exercise ups the endorphins, makes you feel strong which promotes confidence. Finding time to work out is great self-care.

Don’t worry though, you don’t have to join a cross-fit gym unless you want to! It may just be a walk around the neighborhood or a quick 30-minute workout. Focus on just moving and being active! If you really want to self-care it up, try a new group fitness class that you have been avoiding and grow your strength and confidence.

Talk it out

Last but very much not least. Talk it out. Sometimes we just need to vent. Whether it is your spouse, a friend, or a therapist, we all need to vent sometimes. Maybe give them a little heads up so they are not taken by surprise when you bitch about work for 30 minutes straight (unless it is your therapist because, well that is what you are paying them for) and then talk it out!

I don’t know about you but when I can express my feelings to someone and get their help working through my thoughts, I always feel better. If you don’t feel comfortable talking about it with someone, write your thoughts down. It is the same concept. Just get those thoughts out!