Guilt free self care tips : Love yourself!

Go guilt-free and love yourself!

When you are feeling down:

• Make a herbal tea and read an uplifting book.
• Sing along to your favourite music tracks.
• Take some time to pamper yourself with a face mask and paint your nails.
• Write a letter to yourself a year from now.
• Cleanse some crystals and place them on your body as you rest.
• Get a new hairstyle.
• Go to the cinema and watch something uplifting.
• Do something to help someone else.
• Make a Golden Milk drink as a natural anti-depressant.
• Write a gratitude list.
• Journal about what is getting you down.
• Watch a motivating TED talk.
• Remember to not take things personally and keep perspective. See The four agreements.

When you are feeling exhausted:

• Make a delicious green smoothie to energise you.
• Massage your feet with some aromatherapy oils.
• Give yourself or receive some Reiki/ Healing.
• Take a nap. I give you permission, no guilt required!!
• Do some gentle movement exercise to get your energy flowing again. eg the energy routine.
• Make a list of the people, places, habits that are draining you and consider leaving them behind!
• Have a device detox and unplug from social media etc.
• Say “No” in a kind way to requests that are too much for you.
• Ask for help from family / friends in a specific way so that they know what can help you and when.

When you are feeling irritable / frustrated:

• Go for a stroll.
• Drink a big glass of water.
• Treat yourself to a few squares of dark chocolate to boost your Magnesium levels.
• Take some photos outside in nature.
• Visit somewhere new that you haven’t been to before for a new outlook.
• Go to the theatre or a music concert.
• Drive somewhere high up to watch the sunset.
• Go out to a cafe for breakfast and read a quality magazine.
• Have a facial at a beauty salon.
• Breathe more deeply and have some quiet alone time.
• Allow yourself to really feel your feelings so that they can move and evolve. Don’t repress them as they can get trapped in your energy field which can lead to further imbalances.

When you are feeling sad:

• Find a dance class or put on your favourite music and dance at home to lift up your energy.
• Swim in the sea, a lake or a river.
• Get up early and watch the sunrise.
• Burn some uplifting aromatherapy oils.
• Watch some old comedy that really makes you laugh.
• Go to an art exhibition.
• Learn a poem or try to write a song.
• Buy yourself some pretty flowers.
• Be around trees.
• Use some vibrational essences eg Bach flower remedies to help shift your sadness.
• Do some chanting and/or vocal toning to raise vibration.

In essence:

Take some time for yourself and allow stresses and strains to fall away. Life is too short to be spending most of it wound up and overwhelmed. You deserve time for yourself. You need alone time, some people need a lot of alone time. As they say, “You can’t pour from an empty cup”. Why you would be pouring from a cup and not a teapot or jug, I don’t know, but you get the meaning!

“Well ordered self-love is right and natural.”    Thomas Aquinas

I have found as someone with Chronic conditions that I am always frustrated that I am not managing to get on and do what I want to do and that in turn means that I find it really difficult to allow myself to rest and take a nap. I always want to be doing stuff and I suppose In feel that I have missed out so much on doing what I wished to do that I don’t want to “waste” a single second of the rest of my life. Resting is not wasting time however and often more can be achieved post power nap than would have been done otherwise. So ditch the guilt about the housework or the garden or the long “to do” list and take some nurturing time just for you. You deserve it!