Let's Talk About Self-Care, Baby

Let’s admit it. While this month can be a cute, wintery time, December can be pure, stressful insanity for a lot of us. Constant streams of family reunions, holiday shopping frenzies, cold weather clogging up our roads (and our pores!), etc. The list seems endless.

Just this morning, I woke up to 10 emails, 5 texts and 2 missed calls from a variety of different people, all needing me to make decisions and plans. Needless to say, it stressed me out to no end, and I knew I needed a self-care day ASAP.

It’s easy for us to fully give in to the stress-filled lifestyle, keeping ourselves afloat with gallons of coffee and achieving at least 7 hours of sleep a night. But every now and then, it’s crucial we check in with ourselves and ask what we’re missing. When’s the last time you turned your brain off and binge-watched your favourite Real Housewives show? Or splurged on those insane-looking bath bombs and treated yourself to an hour in the tub? While these things may seem trivial and silly indulgences, letting ourselves let loose and be spoiled is so important to recognizing our limits, wants, and our bodies themselves.

It’s also important to note the difference between “self-care”, and just wallowing in a bad case of the blues. Lying in bed all day, binging Netflix and only snacking on a steady diet of just cookies isn’t self-care (trust me, I’ve been there). Make sure that during your solo day, you still eat three balanced meals, you move somewhere a little different from your bed, and try something you normally can’t do. Download a podcast and take a walk through that park you’ve driven by so many times. Spend a day checking out your local museum’s new exhibit. Call up your friend that you haven’t seen in weeks and go check out the latest awards-buzz movie. If she’s busy? Go solo! More popcorn for you.

Good luck with the rest of this nutty month! Remember, take a breath, and don’t forget to be a little selfish and put yourself first. It’ll do wonders.

Pssst. Need some relaxing background tunes? This Youtube Channel has some great ambient, low-fi jazz-pop to soothe your soul.

xx 

- Fraser (Communications Coordinator at With Love Darling)