Hi cutie patooti!
If you have been following me for any minuscule amount of time, you probably know something I reinforce heavily into my every day is self-care.
And this could be ANYTHING! The ONLY rule is that it has to be something that makes you feel all the warm and fuzzy bubbly thoughts. So anything that truly is dedicated to making YOU feel good.
POP!
Just like on an airplane, you have to look out for yourself first. I will fight you on this. It doesn't mean you shouldn't help others or try and help fill up anyone else's cup (or glass of sparkling rose'), it just means you can't fully help anyone else without being full first. SO DAMMIT DO YOURSELF SOME SELF-CARE HONEY!
And here are some ways I show myself self-care! All judgements can be left at the door my dear, please and thank you.
Fizz...
1) Get a massage: Now now now this sounds super boujee, and it is, which is why I only do this on occasion or if someone gifts it to me, but hell yes massage all my troubles away! Spa days in general aren't just a feel good, relaxing thing, but the long-term effects are what make them so valuable.
2) Do a face mask: The second I start to feel stressed, all I can think about is doing something that's productive that doesn't really require too much brain power. A clear mind provides clarity in everything we do. However, I HATE just sitting. I don't find meditation to be a stress reliever for me. And, that doesn't mean it's not an effective practice! It just means, I would rather do "something" even if it doesn't require me to have an active brain while doing it. Therefore, things like doing a hair mask or a face mask helps me relax. It still is doing something productive without me needing to use my already stressed out brain.
3) Watch a movie/your favorite show/reality TV: I don't need to go into a ton of detail with this because it would be repetitive to my reasoning listed above. So I will simply cover the reality TV portion here. Just because I enjoy doing it doesn't mean I think it's making me smarter or that I think any of the people I watch on these shows are people that I look up to/want to be. However, it's entertaining as hell to watch an episode of anything on Bravo or E!. Judge me.
4) Baking: There's nothing I love more than making sure myself/people I care about have a happy tummy. Happy tummies = happy people. It's all the same. Most of the time I try to use the purest products I can as well so there isn't guilt affiliated with something that should make me/others feel good. And if I had to choose a favorite thing to cook it would either be cupcakes or chocolate chip cookies.
5) Don't eat junk or drink alcohol to help relax you: So going off of the item I listed above, I do NOT have an emotional dependency on food. Therefore it's okay for me to bake something because I can stop when I know I need to, or I can get myself back in check if I overdo it a little. And it makes me feel good to give baked goods to other people. However, it is a disaster during stressful situations to eat a ton of junk food and/or alcohol. I stick by the rule to only drink when you are in a good mood. When has drinking when you are stressed or upset ever resulted in making you feel better? It may be a temporary fix, just like junk food tasting good in the moment, but the more often we rely on things to make us feel better that aren't actually good for us, the more we will gain emotional dependencies on things that are counterintuitive. Now, manageable stress is different. Depending on the circumstance, if you're kind of excited stressed versus upset stressed then I think you could enjoy a couple adult beverages without fear of an emotional dependency. But, getting wasted to make yourself happy is never the way to go.
CLINK!
The most important thing to take away from this is that there is absolutely nothing selfish about self-care. And there aren't any rules to determine what self-care means to you.
Make the time to take care of yourself. It's not just important for you, but the rest of the world needs you to take care of yourself too.
Only you can be the one to fill up your cup.
stay bubbly,
Broms