Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner!  This week, I will be reflecting on this semester and my self-care goals.  I cannot believe how fast my first year of college has gone!  I have loved every minute and even though this semester went very well, it was stressful at times and I found I needed more self-care built into my schedule than I have at any time before.  At the beginning of the semester, as seen in my second blog post, I thought about my current needs and stressors so I could create an effective self-care plan to lower my stress and anxiety levels.  I know that taking that time to do that paid off for me this semester!  

My Self-Care Plan

In my self-care plan, I brainstormed possible activities to engage in to release stress, proposed initial first steps to get started, and planned out my self-care schedule for the remainder of the semester.  When thinking about activities I could engage in throughout the semester, I listed exercising, listening to calming music, watching a show on Netflix, playing a game on my phone, and talking to people that I trust.  Throughout the semester, I planned to take at least one hour at night before going to bed to care for myself.  By taking this time, I could wind down to sleep better and be able to put the best version of myself forward the next day.  

Reflecting on My Self-Care Plan

Surprisingly, I have followed my self-care plan throughout the semester and took advantage of each opportunity to care for myself when I needed a break or time to de-stress.  When I did not have dance practice or another club activity, I took advantage of my proximity to the White Building (living right next door helps!)  by weight lifting and walking on the treadmill to let out the day’s stress and exercise for at least 30 minutes.  In addition to this, I have added yoga and meditation practices to my weekly schedule for two days out of the week.  I did not know how beneficial consistent yoga and meditation practice would be for me.  The most successful part of my self-care plan was taking at least an hour at the end of each day before bed to reflect on the day and take time for myself.  I usually spend this time watching a show on Netflix or playing a puzzle game on my phone to wind down.  

Moving Forward

While this semester has been stressful and overwhelming at times, I chose to prioritize myself and my needs before anyone else.  Over the summer, I am planning to keep the same self-care schedule, which includes taking time at the end of the day for myself.  In addition to this, I will be taking lots of trips to the beach and mountains to decompress and enjoy the outdoors.  By sticking to this schedule throughout the summer break, I will begin the fall semester feeling relaxed and refreshed.  

Thank you for joining me on my self-care journey this semester!  I hope you were able to learn something new from this blog that you can incorporate into your daily life to take care of yourself before helping those around you.  

Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner!  For this week’s blog, I will discuss yoga and meditation, and how to best incorporate them into your daily life.  Trust me, it is easier than you think!  Yoga includes various exercise and movement sequences combined with breathing techniques and meditation concepts.  Yoga practice can be specialized design per the individual. There are easier moves that suit everyone and there are some moves that are more difficult to suit those with more practice.  Yoga also allows for modifications that can be made to accommodate everyone’s current needs or limitations.  

While many people believe that the focus of yoga is to become very still and relax the mind, it can also be, at the same time, energizing and allow a person to push his/her body and mind to the limit by activating the core, large muscle groups, and balance.  By practicing yoga while also remaining conscious of your breath, a line of communication opens up between your mind and body.  Focusing on your breath is one of the key aspects of yoga, which can lead to the still practice of meditation.

What are the benefits of yoga and meditation?

There are many lifelong benefits of practicing yoga and meditation.  Both yoga and meditation are individual practices where it is essential to be in sync with your body and know its limits.  In addition to this and when done correctly with focus, yoga and meditation allow your body and mind to fully relax from physical tension combined with mental distraction and stress.  The practices of yoga and meditation also promote brain health.  It is important to prevent our minds from going into “auto-pilot,” so yoga and meditation help us take control over our thoughts and outlook on the day.  Lastly, yoga and meditation practices decrease anxiety, improve psychological health, prevent burnout, and promote increased awareness between the mind and body.  

Three Yoga Poses for Everyone

This semester, I have had the opportunity to take a yoga class at Penn State.  This has forced me to practice yoga as a dedicated part of my weekly schedule and I have loved every minute of it!  Throughout these yoga classes and several movement practices, I have done on my own, I have selected a few poses and movements that I consider my favorites.  Below is a list of my top three yoga poses:

• Child’s Pose – This pose is wonderful to briefly rest and relax before jumping back into a more difficult pose or movement sequence.  It stretches your lower back, hips, thighs, and knees while also relaxing your spine, shoulders, and neck.  One modification of this pose I enjoy is resting prayer hands on the back of my head.

• Downward Dog – Whenever I think of yoga, this is the pose that comes to mind.  Downward dog is one of the most common yoga poses.  It strengthens your arms, shoulders, and back while also stretching your hamstrings, calves, and foot arches.  The key to this pose is evenly distributing weight through your hands, pushing your hips to the sky, and keeping your shoulders relaxed and not scrunched towards your ears.  For an added challenge, you can ground your forearms rather than your palms, which turns into the dolphin pose.

• Twisted Crescent Lunge – This pose strengthens your core, thighs, chest, and shoulders while also promoting balance and flexibility.  The best part of this pose is the twist of the upper body towards the grounded leg, which opens up the chest and side ribs for a nice stretch.

Simple Meditations Anyone Can Try

Along with yoga, I have added meditation into my weekly schedule, and I have enjoyed connecting with myself and my breathing.  Throughout several meditation practices, I have come to realize which breathing techniques and guided meditations are my favorite.  Below is a list of my top three meditation practices:

• 4-4-8 Breathing – This breathing exercise is most effective in a seated position that is comfortable for you.  The sequence consists of breathing in through your nose for four counts filling up your lungs, holding the breath for four counts, and exhaling fully through your mouth for eight counts.  This technique really calms my body and mind.  I enjoy using this breathing practice when I need to take a mental reset before starting something else.  

• Visualization Meditation – This meditation practice includes picturing and imagining positive images, ideas, and symbols.  It can also utilize affirmations and mantras to help calm the mind and focus on something happy and uplifting in your life.  Using visualization can help ease pain, send love to others, or support you in goal making and achieving.  Visualization meditation engages your mind and its limitless imagination.  
• Gratitude Meditation – This meditation practice is simply reflecting on people, places, and things in our lives that we are truly grateful for.  Through this practice, you should be filled with feelings of appreciation for a friend, family member, sunny weather, coffee, and more.  This practice helps us appreciate everything we have in our lives, which can ultimately enhance our well-being.  

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating different yoga and meditation practices into your daily life.  Based on your current needs, implement the best yoga poses and meditations that work best for you.  I know that trying new things, such as yoga or meditation, can be scary, but you may really like it and it doesn’t hurt you to try something new.  Be sure to check back in two weeks at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner for my last post where I will be reflecting on this semester and my self-care goals.  

Sources: 

• https://www.fxmedicine.com.au/blog-post/science-yoga-meditation-and-mindfulness
• https://www.lifehack.org/824793/yoga-meditation
• https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/beginner-yoga
• https://www.wellandgood.com/visualization-meditation/#:~:text=%22Visualization%20meditation%20is%20the%20method,health%20and%20wellness%20platform%20Vivaya.

Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner!  For this week’s blog, I will discuss journaling, the benefits of journaling regularly, and different ways to journal.  Throughout middle school, many of my peers kept a diary, where they would write down school gossip, secret crushes, or the highs and lows of each day with no real purpose.  As life got more stressful and the daily demands increased throughout high school, it got more difficult to maintain a journal.  After adding daily journaling and reflection to my life, I realized that the hardest part of journaling is getting started and turning it into a daily habit.  

The Benefits of Journaling

As I discussed in my last post on emotional self-care, it is important to express and deal with our overwhelming emotions in healthy ways, which could include journaling as part of your self-care practice.  You can use journaling as a tool to manage your emotions and mental health.  By tracking your daily emotions and thoughts, you are able to recognize patterns and possible triggers in order to prevent future outbursts or negative thoughts.  In addition to this, journaling gives you a chance to think about the positive and negative thoughts from your day.  Remember that journaling is only one important aspect of leading a healthier lifestyle by improving stress management and mental health.  

Journaling Techniques

There are several journaling techniques that can be helpful when implementing journaling into your daily life.  You can find a journaling technique for almost any situation in your life, so I would suggest picking what would work best for you and your current needs emotionally and mentally.  Below are some journaling techniques that I have found helpful:

• Write down affirmations.  Daily affirmations are positive statements that can relate to you and your daily life.  By using affirmations, you can shift your mindset and attitude from negative to positive.  Some possible daily affirmations include “I wish to be happy”, “I am enough”, “I will ease my suffering”, or “I have the power to change my mindset.”

• Practice reflective journaling.  Reflective journaling considers an experience in your life and asks you to reflect on that specific moment, how you felt, and what you thought at the moment.  After considering your personal feelings, you can think about the deeper meaning of the experience such as what you think the moment means or how did it affect you.  Lastly, think about if you learned anything from experience or during the reflection.  Reflective journaling helps us process difficult life events so that we are able to move forward with our lives.

• Try the unsent letter technique.  Unsent letters can be used to gain closure, clarity, confidence, and achieve a state of calmness.  You can write an unsent letter to communicate something left unsaid to someone you cared about or voice your thoughts or feelings towards them.  After writing an unsent letter, it is easier to move on with your life and leave the person “receiving” the letter in the past.

• Write what you are grateful for or a gratitude letter.  By practicing gratitude towards ourselves and others, we feel overall happier and have a more positive outlook on life.  You can simply write what you are grateful for at that specific moment.  In addition to this, you could write someone a gratitude letter thanking them for being a part of your life.

• Try freewriting.  Freewriting is one of the most common journaling techniques.  When you use the freewriting technique, you write down whatever comes to mind similar to a brain dump.  Even if your mind wanders, then continue to write down whatever pops into your head.  Sometimes freewriting is a good place to start because it gets your mind and thoughts flowing more freely instead of staring at a blank page.

Journaling Tips

The hardest part of daily journaling is getting started, so I provided some tips that helped me get in the habit of incorporating journaling into my daily routine.  

• Try to be consistent.  Life can easily get busy, but it is important to try to remain consistent with your journaling in order to implement the practice into your daily life.  Choosing a specific time to journal for a few minutes each day will help you write in your journal regularly and make it a part of your daily routine.

• Journal whatever you would like.  Your journal can be whatever you want it to be.  A journal should be a private place to express yourself.  When you are journaling, write or draw whatever comes to mind without judgment. 

• Use different journaling techniques.  Using different journaling techniques each day or week will keep you excited and interested in daily journaling.  There are several techniques that can be used for almost any purpose or situation as mentioned above.   

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating journaling into your daily life with a technique that best suits you and your needs.  Be sure to check back next week at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing various yoga and meditation techniques that you can incorporate into your daily life.

Sources:

• https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentID=4552&ContentTypeID=1
• https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/journaling-ideas.html
• https://vanillapapers.net/2019/11/13/journaling-tips/
• https://www.freelancewriting.com/journal-writing/a-powerful-journaling-tool-the-unsent-letter/ 

Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner!  For this week’s blog, I will explain the concept of emotional self-care and coping with your various emotions throughout the day.  Each day brings different stress to our lives, so it is important to care for yourself, including your emotional health.  By nurturing your emotions, you are able to decrease stress, calm your nerves, cope with difficult situations and problems, and enhance your overall mood.  

What is Emotional Self-Care?

Emotional self-care includes acknowledging your emotions, identifying which emotion you are feeling, and allowing yourself to feel the specific emotion rather than holding it back.  In today’s world, many people, including myself, try to suppress or ignore emotions rather than deal with them at that specific moment.  Let’s face it – with the speed of life, it just seems easier to put off dealing with the emotion later.  But is that really what we should do?  Ultimately, the emotions that are held in will eventually come out.  If too many emotions are packed in, a person runs the risk of the emotions spilling out uncontrollably!  A key aspect of emotional self-care is really knowing yourself, your situation and being able to express your feelings without being judgemental of those very specific and individualized emotions.  This is not easy to do and takes practice.  By assessing your emotions without judgment, you are able to notice patterns of emotional responses in various situations and try to prevent them from spilling out uncontrollably and impacting your emotional self in the future.  

Assessing Emotional Needs

By adding emotional self-care to your daily life, you will be able to focus on your specific emotions, your internal reaction, and focusing on keeping your mind more at ease and relaxed in high-stress situations.  One way to assess your emotional needs is to be in tune with your body by noticing any physical sensations that come with certain emotions.  You can also consider how your emotions come out positively or negatively when triggered by a specific situation and how to possibly prevent an outburst.  To decide what emotional self-care techniques work best for you, think about what personal needs should be met through this self-care practice.  You can start by asking yourself these questions before choosing your emotional self-care strategy:

• How do you process your emotions?  Are these ways healthy or unhealthy?
• Do you participate in activities that help you feel recharged?
• How do you deal with an emotional outburst? Or do you tend to hold your emotions in?
• What triggers your emotions such as anger, sadness, overwhelmed, or fear?

Incorporating Emotional Self-Care

• Be gentle towards yourself, your emotions, and the others around you.  Everyone, including you, personally deals with and faces situations that cause stress each day.  What this really means is that everyone is doing the best they can in order to get through the day’s demands  If you are upset about something, it is very easy to snap or take out your emotions on someone else that might be trying to help.  This would not be a great way to handle your own stress!  It is important to be kind to yourself and your own emotions, but also give that courtesy to others as everyone is dealing with their own stressors in different ways.

• Take a break from the news and social media. Now more than ever, the news can sometimes bring more harm than good to our emotions.  It is crucial to remain informed on the latest news within the country and around the world, but it is totally okay to limit your screen time, especially if the current events are adding negatively to your emotions.

• Focus on what you can control.  Sometimes we get overwhelmed about things in our lives that are out of our control such as world events, the COVID-19 pandemic, or others’ actions.  It is important to remember that we can only control ourselves as well as our thoughts, emotions, and actions.

• Connect with someone you trust. It is critical to talk about your emotions with other people if you are feeling very overwhelmed, anxious, sad, or angry.  Ultimately, it is always better to let out your emotions rather than bottle them up until you explode.  Talking with someone you trust allows you to release your emotions and feelings in a safe, judgment-free environment.  

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating emotional self-care into your daily life.  Be sure to check back next week at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing journaling and various techniques that you can incorporate into your daily life.

Sources:

• https://www.uchealth.org/today/how-to-practice-emotional-self-care/
• https://www.choosingtherapy.com/emotional-self-care/
• https://tristatehospital.org/the-importance-of-self-care/#:~:text=Emotional%20self%2Dcare.&text=What%20emotional%20self%2Dcare%20means,out%2C%20one%20way%20or%20another.
• https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729 

Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner!  For this week’s blog, I will discuss the concept of spiritual self-care and connecting with your true inner self.  While it is critical to take care of your physical and mental health, it is also important to nurture your soul and spirit.  

What is Spiritual Self-Care?

Spirituality and the practice of spiritual self-care will look different for everyone based on an individual’s thought processes and personal beliefs.  There are many ways to practice spiritual self-care.  Your goal is to feel a deeper connection with yourself and your thoughts and beliefs.  Your own spirituality could be related to religion or culture, but taking care of your spirit does not need to be solely based on religion.  A person’s concept of spirituality could be practiced in nature, or through art, music, writing, or dance.  The practice of spirituality and spiritual self-care is highly personal, and the goal is to find a deeper sense of understanding, purpose, and connection with your inner self and the universe.  

Assessing Spiritual Needs

By adding spiritual self-care to your daily life, your body and, more importantly, your soul will be fulfilled by offering clarity and understanding.  Spiritual self-care can silence the mind and help the body achieve a calm state.  For example, when you feel happy and at peace with yourself, your life, and your surroundings, your body can sense peace and relaxation at the core.  To decide what spiritual self-care techniques work best for you, consider what personal needs should be met through this self-care practice.  You can start by asking yourself these questions before choosing your spiritual self-care path each day:

• Are you experiencing inner peace?  If not, what is causing this instability?
• What am I feeling right now?  Happiness?  Loneliness?  What is causing these feelings?
• What is my relationship with my inner self?
• What spiritual practices are you engaged in that are fulfilling your spirit?
• Do those spiritual practices lead to a sense of calm, peace, and fulfillment?

Incorporating Spiritual Self-Care

Spiritual self-care is essential for you to live a fulfilling and happy life by nourishing your soul and spirit every single day.  The following list includes ways you can improve your inner connection with yourself by practicing spiritual self-care:

• Practice yoga.  By recognizing your current needs, yoga can be a great tool to balance your body, mind, and spirit.  Many people believe that yoga is full of holding intricate poses for periods of time, but yoga is a wonderful way to exercise not just your body but your spirit as well.  The moves in yoga are purposeful and connected physically to your inner self. Yoga encourages an accepting environment within your body and soul by helping you build a strong base for a fulfilling life.  In a future post, I will explore the practice of yoga on a deeper level.

• Try meditation.  Meditation is one of the easiest ways to add spiritual self-care into your daily routine, and you only need a few minutes each day.  Meditation is proven to help calm your body, mind, and spirit by reducing stress and creating a clearer connection between you and your inner self.  A successful meditation session blocks out all worldly distractions and allows a person to quiet their ever-going mind.  Meditation is not easy and requires quiet and strong personal focus. If classic meditation isn’t for you, then you can also try deep breathing exercises, mindfulness meditation, visualization, or repeating a mantra.  In a future post, I will also explore the practice of meditation and the various techniques.

• Practice forgiveness.  By forgiving yourself and others, you will be able to live the life that you want.  A lot of energy is used to hold grudges or anger towards others, but this energy could be used to care for yourself and create the life you want to have.  By remaining present and forgiving, you are improving and caring for your spiritual health and well-being.

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating spiritual self-care into your daily life.  Be sure to check back next week at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing emotional self-care and the importance of caring for you and your emotions.

Sources:

• https://www.desert-alchemy.com/article/spiritual-self-care/
• https://chopra.com/articles/10-spiritual-self-care-tips-to-be-happy
• https://www.mhanational.org/take-care-your-spirit
• https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729 

Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner!  Mental health is a hot topic as we have come through nearly two years of a pandemic that has changed the way many of us live our lives.  For this week’s blog, I will discuss the concept of mental self-care, which focuses on decluttering your mind, reducing stress, and promoting mindfulness throughout your daily life.  As a college student in 2022, it is very easy to become overwhelmed!  In addition to masks, COVID quarantines, and isolation, we now add schoolwork, exams, club meetings and activities, social events, as well as re-establishing and maintaining connections with others.  It is important to remember that your inner thoughts and mental space impact your overall psychological well-being, which can affect your physical health as well. 

What is Mental Self-Care?

Mental self-care includes keeping your brain clear of distractions and thoughts that detract from your everyday focus and routine. It allows you to maintain a healthy mental space by clearing your mind and ultimately decreasing stress levels.  Even though life can get overwhelming with school, work, or daily life activities, caring for yourself and your mental health is critical to thriving and improving your overall happiness and mood.  Taking time each day for quiet activities and self-reflection help you to establish a way to help your mind feel relaxed and refreshed.  It is also important to know that there is more than one way to practice mental self-care, as it is a highly personalized way to manage your mind.  

Assessing Mental Needs

Before choosing the best mental self-care strategy for you, consider your current mental needs.  You may ask yourself if you are putting aside enough time each day for activities that stimulate your mind such as solving problems, puzzles, or learning about a new topic.  In addition to this, you may also want to think about what things you are doing to keep your mind and mental space healthy, positive, and uplifting.  Avoiding negative influences such as stressful news topics, toxic relationships, as well as overkill on social media can help people with focusing on positive mental health.  Everyone’s mental needs are unique with each individual’s mental self-care looking different – and this is really okay!

Incorporating Mental Self-Care

Mental self-care is crucial for you to live a positive, uplifting, and happy life by attempting to create a healthy mental space for yourself every single day.  The following list includes ways you can improve your stress, mental compression, and overall mental health by practicing mental self-care: 

• Take note of the positive. Some days it is so easy to focus on all of the negative aspects of your day, but it is important to take a moment to remember all of the positive instances throughout your day.  You may think about these positive moments before you go to sleep to clear your mind.  This positive instance can be anything from your day such as “the weather was beautiful today” or “I aced my math exam.”  As long as the positive thoughts declutter your mind, reduce stress, and promote a healthier mental space, then you are on the right track.

• Stimulate and energize your mind.  Even though we are constantly using our brains to complete schoolwork or study for exams, it is essential to stimulate our minds differently.  This might include but is not limited to solving puzzles, doing the daily Wordle, reading a book or article, or watching a movie or TV show.

• Practice self-compassion, acceptance, and gratitude.  In tough situations, it is critical to be kind and accepting towards ourselves rather than ignoring our pain and mental suffering.  By being compassionate towards ourselves, we can approach problems and difficult situations with an open mind and an optimistic outlook.  In addition to this, if we are showing gratitude and acceptance towards ourselves, then it is more likely that we will be courteous regarding others.  

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating mental self-care into your daily life.  Be sure to check back in two weeks at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing spiritual self-care and the importance of nurturing your spirit.

Sources:

• https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729#:~:text=Mental%20self%2Dcare%20includes%20doing,help%20you%20stay%20mentally%20healthy.
• https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Family-Members-and-Caregivers/Taking-Care-of-Yourself
• https://projecthelping.org/self-care-2/ 

Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner!  This week, I will be discussing the concept of social self-care which focuses on improving your connections to and relationships with other people.  My yoga teacher caught my attention to this topic when she started our movement practice with the line, “it is important to check our own oxygen mask before we help others with theirs.” While many people are concerned only with caring for themselves, a better approach for people is to focus more on caring for others.  This can be shown in many ways, such as a mother caring for a child, a college student caring for her roommate, or a person caring for a beloved pet.  It is a good social self-care practice to take a quiet moment to clear your head before interacting with and uplifting other people, which I hope you consider in your own life. 

What is Social Self-Care?

Social self-care starts with a healthy self-view which then allows us to develop healthy relationships with and positive connections to others.  In social self-care, it is important to consider how to properly manage our relationships with others in order to maximize their potential and at the same time prevent the idea of social burnout, which means that you have reached your fill of socialization.  Some people with this social burnout become completely physically and mentally exhausted.  To successfully achieve a healthy social self-care balance, a person must focus on nurturing his/her feelings of appreciation, gratitude, love, and connecting with others on a regular basis.  

Assessing Social Needs

Socializing is essential for everyone and their mental health!  This was made clearly evident during the pandemic as lockdowns were difficult for so many people to navigate.  In order to benefit from socializing with others, we need to focus on building our relationships.  This relationship-building takes time, effort, and reflection.  Relationships, friendships, and connections with other people should be uplifting and energizing, as it is important to make sure that these relationships are positively impacting your mental health rather than harming it.  It is essential to connect with others in order to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation in addition to lessening the amount of stress in our daily lives.    

Incorporating Social Self-Care

Social self-care is critical for you to live a positive, uplifting, and empowering life in order to benefit yourself and others around you.  The following list includes ways you can improve your socialization and interactions skills by practicing social self-care: 

• Take a break from the screen.  Today, we all spend so many hours of the day looking at a screen whether that’s doing school work on a computer or scrolling through social media connecting with others on our phone.  In order to reduce eye strain and improve your health, consider trying the “rule of 20,” which says to take a break from a screen every 20 minutes by looking at something that is 20 feet away for about 20 seconds.  Even though the world today is largely online, it is important to create meaningful relationships in person without harming our health.

• Set boundaries with others.  In order to prevent social burn-out and find balance in our lives, it is essential to set healthy boundaries with others and learn to say “no” when our mental health needs time to recharge.  By saying “no” sometimes and slowing down to re-energize your body and mind, you will be able to rediscover yourself and benefit from your time spent with others.

• Meet up and talk with a friend or family member.  Even though it is so easy to text or Facetime someone, it is important to maintain face-to-face contact with those you trust in your life.  Talking with someone who loves and supports you should make you feel energized, refreshed, and empowered.

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating social self-care into your daily life.  Be sure to check back in two weeks at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing mental self-care and the importance of decluttering your mind to reduce stress.

Sources:

• https://lifegoalsmag.com/social-self-care-tips/#:~:text=Social%20self%2Dcare%20encourages%20us,relationships%20while%20preventing%20social%20burnout.
• https://familyaware.org/social-self-care-ideas-to-prevent-feeling-isolated/
• https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729 

Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner!  This week, I will be discussing physical self-care, how to improve your physical health using this type of self-care, and how to incorporate it into your daily life.  The key idea is simple – in order for our bodies to feel good, we must take care of them!  By caring for our bodies, it can make our overall mental compression and mood lighter as well.  

What is Physical Self-Care?

Physical self-care involves several important parts.  This includes the specific nutrients and food you are eating, how much sleep you are getting each night, what physical activity and/or exercise you participate in, and taking care of yourself by keeping up with healthy hygiene practices.  Most people fail to realize that by attending annual doctor’s appointments and semi-annually dental cleanings, they are promoting and practicing good physical self-care.

Assessing Physical Needs

Physical self-care is all about listening to your body and its needs!  In order to develop physical self-care strategies, you must assess and acknowledge your current physical needs.  You want to factor in the hours of sleep you get each night, the minutes you spend exercising each day (and yes, I said each day!), and how your daily food and dietary choices (meals and snacks) impact your overall physical health.  By being true to yourself about your current physical levels and thinking of ways you may improve upon your physical health, the easier it will be to create and follow an individualized physical self-care plan.  

Incorporating Physical Self-Care

Physical self-care is vital for you to live a healthy, well-balanced life.  You only have one body for the rest of your life, so caring for it is critical!  The following list are ways you can improve your overall physical health by practicing physical self-care: 

1. Get a good night’s sleep every night.  One of the essential aspects of taking care of your body is getting adequate sleep every night and resting throughout the day when needed.  Adults should try to get about 7-9 hours of sleep every night.  In addition to this, you should take short breaks throughout the day in order to reset your body and mind in order to work efficiently and effectively for the rest of the day.  
2. Eat healthily and hydrate yourself.  It is important to eat food that makes your body feel nurtured and fulfilled with necessary nutrients, but it is also good to treat yourself to a sweet treat every so often to keep a balance.  In addition to eating well-portioned and balanced meals throughout the day, it is critical to make sure you are staying hydrated by drinking water.  According to the Mayo Clinic, “The United States National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is: about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men and about 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women.”  To put it in simple terms, that is roughly 6 regular bottles of Poland Spring for women and 8 regular bottles of Poland Spring for men! It is important to remember how essential healthy and proper nourishment is to our body’s health.
3. Participate in physical activity.  By moving your body in some type of physical activity, it is beneficial for both your physical and mental health.  Exercising can easily boost your overall mood and attitude, and it can also clear your head of the day’s stress.  Physical activity can be something as simple as a walk around campus or downtown for 30 minutes, or you could try something new such as yoga, meditation, rock climbing, weight lifting, Zumba, and more.  When choosing a type of physical activity, choose something that you enjoy and will feel refreshed afterward.  

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating physical self-care into your daily life.  Be sure to check back next week at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing social self-care and the importance of maintaining relationships with others.

Sources:

• https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729#:~:text=Physical%20self%2Dcare%20includes%20how,of%20good%20physical%20self%2Dcare.
• https://www.mhanational.org/taking-good-care-yourself 
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256#:~:text=So%20how%20much%20fluid%20does,fluids%20a%20day%20for%20women 

Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner!  This week, I will be looking at how to create a self-care plan and reflecting on my self-care plan for this semester.  Self-care plans are personalized and should be fit for your needs and goals.  A self-care plan must be created by you in order to help you become a better version of yourself.  By making a self-care plan, you are trying to prevent yourself from becoming overwhelmed or stressed.  Before creating a self-care plan, remember that flexibility is key as our lives are constantly changing!  At some point, you may need to modify your self-care plan based on your current situation. 

 In order to create a self-care plan, follow these steps:

1. Assess your current needs – What do you engage in every day physically, mentally, socially, spiritually, and emotionally?  This could include school, work, club activities, social events, friendships, relationships, family, and more.
2. Think about your stressors – What causes stress from your daily engagement within each category of wellness?  What are some ways you would like to relieve this stress?
3. Create self-care approaches – What are some activities you can participate in to alleviate the stress in various areas of your life?
4. Establish small steps – What is one step you can take to start your self-care journey?
5. Schedule your self-care – When are you going to care for yourself?

Self-care will look different for everyone based on what type of self-care you need the most in order to better yourself and feel refreshed.  For example, college students may need physical, mental, and emotional self-care, because of the hectic pace of life during each day, difficult classes, and managing relationships with others.  Overall, a self-care plan needs to be personalized in order to address your current needs.  By developing a self-care plan before stress becomes overwhelming, you are preventing yourself from reaching a true breaking point and dealing with a potential major mental meltdown.  In order to be successful in bettering yourself, take small steps each day to work towards the goals in your plan, so in the future, you are able to confront stressful situations and daily challenges with an improved mindset.  

My Self-Care Plan

In order to hold myself accountable and show an example of a self-care plan that is in constant development, I would like to share my self-care plan and show the steps I use in assessing and acknowledging my current situation and how to alleviate and handle my stress appropriately in the future.

1. Assess your current needs – In a typical week, I engage in 6 total courses (2-3 per weekday), club meetings (2 nights per week), dance rehearsals (2 nights per week), workouts (2-3 per week), social events (1-2 per weekend), daily lunch and dinner with friends, and communication with my family, boyfriend, and home-town friends every day.   
2. Think about your stressors – Currently, some of my stressors include school assignments, REU applications, making time for weekly activities, and being invited to hang out with friends and expand my social circle.
3. Create self-care approaches – Possible activities that I can participate in to relieve stress include exercising, listening to comforting or calming music, deep breathing exercises throughout the day, yoga, guided meditation, watching a favorite show on Netflix (Have you seen Bridgerton?), playing a game on my phone, and talking to people I trust and can rely on as listeners.
4. Establish small steps – The first step in my self-care journey is to dedicate the last one hour of my day to myself before going to sleep by watching an episode of a TV show or listening to peaceful music on my phone.
5. Schedule your self-care – Currently, I am planning to care for myself at night before going to bed.  This will help me wind down in order to sleep better and be able to put the best version of myself forward the next day. 

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in developing your own self-care plan.  Be sure to check back next week at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing physical self-care and how to incorporate it into your daily life.

Sources:

• https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729

Welcome to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner!  As the well-known blogger, speaker, and mental health advocate, Katie Reed said, “Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.”  As a stressed-out college student with loads of assignments, club meetings, social events to attend, and only 24 hours in a day, it is essential to take a few moments for yourself every day to relax and recharge in order to put the best version of yourself forward.  This is critical not only for your own mental health but also for your physical and emotional well-being.  Throughout this semester, I will be exploring many types of self-care that include different techniques and strategies that anyone can use to incorporate self-care into their daily routine, and how to develop and successfully execute a personal self-care plan.  I hope that people will find these suggestions valuable and are able to incorporate one, several, or all of these approaches into their everyday life!

What is self-care and what are the different types of self-care?

Self-care means caring for yourself physically, mentally, socially, spiritually, and emotionally.  Physical self-care includes taking care of yourself by keeping up with proper hygiene, exercising regularly, getting at least 8 hours of sleep, and maintaining a healthy diet.  Mental self-care includes decluttering your mind in order to reduce stress and tension within your mental space, which can occasionally spill over and cause physical symptoms such as pain and fatigue.  Social self-care includes maintaining positive, happy, and healthy relationships with both ourselves and others.  This also includes the world of social media and taking scheduled breaks from the often treacherous worlds of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.  Spiritual self-care includes practices that allow us to connect with our inner selves through deep breathing, meditation, yoga, prayer, or repeating certain mantras.  Lastly, emotional self-care includes being aware, identifying, respecting, and understanding our daily emotional journey through journaling, showing empathy, and practicing gratitude.  All of these types of self-care are important in making ourselves better every day.

Why is self-care important and what are some benefits of self-care?

By caring for ourselves, we are able to cope with the daily stressors of life and take proper care of our health and positive well-being.  Practicing self-care helps develop the best version of ourselves and allows us to react appropriately to any situation going on around us.  According to Brighid Courtney, a faculty member of the Wellness Council of America, regularly practicing self-care can lead to positive health outcomes for an individual, including less stress, a healthier immune system, a boost in productivity, and increased self-esteem.

Self-care can have a positive impact on you and your health, but it does require dedication and commitment in order to better yourself and your well-being.  I am looking forward to having you join me on this journey through self-care and hope that my posts give you tips and strategies that bring calm to your crazy world!  Be sure to check back next week at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing how to create a personal self-care plan.

Sources:

• everydayhealth.com/self-care/