The Five Best Free Ways to Practice Self-Care

Self-care has become a major talking point, with the issue of making ourselves a priority an important aspect to our overall wellbeing. Self-care is extremely valuable to help avoid burnout and the feeling of being constantly overwhelmed. The best part is that little things can help and what’s even better is that they don’t have to cost a fortune. But in the end regardless of what you choose to do, just make sure that you want to do it and it makes you feel good in the long run.

Take a Bath

The best way to relax and to truly soak in the free time that you have. Adding in bath bombs or salts to spruce up your experience, take some wine in with you and read a book and just make the most of it. Even if it’s just for 20 minutes or until your kids start banging on the door, just close your eyes and relax. An extra tip is to add Epsom Salt into your bath which is perfect after the gym to help reduce muscle soreness.

Unplug and Switch Off

Either you’ve clocked off for the day and it’s time to fully focus on your home life or you’re stuck in an endless social media hole, it’s always a good idea to turn off your phone for a while. Not only does it help you hone in on the current moment it also allows you to avoid the constant negatives that social media brings, for example comparison, envy and disappointment. It doesn’t have to be for long but just make sure that you lose the habit of obsessively checking your phone.

Walk

While some of us may find this to be a chore, it really doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of ways to make it more enjoyable, take your dog for a walk, find a friend who lives nearby and go on a hike, travel to your favourite beach spot and go for a walk or take a trip into your local city centre and take a stroll. You’ll see a whole new perspective on where you live as you pretend to be a tourist for a short while and it will make you appreciate where you live even more than usual.

Journal

Journalling has become a major craze lately, with the emergence of different techniques, for example by bullet journalling, free writing or timed writing. Journalling is said to help with processing complicated thoughts and to help people with decisions, it also allows people to have that creative outlet that they may be missing throughout their daily lives. If something is bothering you, write it down, then throw it away or even burn it as a cathartic way of releasing the pain.

Make Time for Your Hobby

Whether that be watching your favourite TV shows or movies, reading or gardening, make sure you are doing something that brings you joy. Regardless of whether people see it as truly fulfilling or not it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s something that you want to do, then go do it. Don’t be ashamed and don’t be waylaid into doing something your just not interested in. But it’s probably for the best if you keep your Netflix binging to one or two episodes, while you definitely need self-care you also need to be self-aware.