My word for 2019: SELF-CARE

It´s Christmas Morning. I´m sitting here, drinking my coffee and I´m thinking about how blessed I am in my life. I´m healthy, I have a loving family, a good job and the chance to share my thoughts with you.

I love slow mornings, I think they are my favorite time of the day. A good coffee and good music are all what I need to escape from everyday life.

I realize now that although I started this post without any subject in mind, it goes in a direction of a subject I wanted for a long time to share with you: SELF-CARE.

Self-care is something I have been (like many of us) successfully ignoring for a long time now. Although it is one of the essential things I talk about with my patients (as a psychiatrist and a cognitive-behavioral therapist), I somehow managed to convince myself it is something I could postpone for a later time in my life.

But it is time to take action. So here are a few self-care tips for those of us who live a busy and chaotic life.

Be selfish. Every once in a while do something just because it makes you happy.

Practice mindfulness: one minute of awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and sensations; one minute of focused attention on breathing; and one minute of awareness of the body as a whole. Try to do this without any judgment, just try to take in all the impressions, sensations and feelings.

Have some Me-Time. Spend time alone doing something that nourishes you (reading, your hobby, visiting a museum or gallery, etc.).

Edit your social media feeds, and take out any negative people. You can just “mute” them, you don’t have to delete them. It would be even better (if possible) to unplug from social media, you could try this one hour after you get up and one hour before you go to bed. It would also be a great opportunity for some Me-Time.

Oxygenate by taking three deep breaths.

Go for a walk every day. Or practice any other kind of exercise.

Ask for help when you need it. Big or small, but reach out.

Spend time with your loved ones.

With that I wish you a 2019 full of love, harmony and self-care.

Until next week!
Yours,
Diana