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Self-care is giving the world your best. Not giving all of what you've got left to the world!
Snapchat-764543388.mp4Steps to Taking Care of Yourself
We often get so busy that we forget to take care of ourselves, both physically and emotionally. But regular self-care isn't selfish—it builds the resilience you need to bounce back when life gets hard.
What does real self-care look like?
Validate Your Worth: Remind yourself daily that you matter. Because you matter, it is important to spend energy helping yourself feel better.
Be Patient: Accept that you will make mistakes and you can't please everyone. Allow yourself time to grieve when things go wrong.
Know When to Ask for Help: Recognize when you are in over your head. Admitting you need a "safety line"—whether that’s a therapist, a life coach, or a trusted friend—is an act of strength.
Protect Your Energy: Say "no" to situations or people that trigger you negatively.
Seek Peace with Family: While you should evaluate healthy boundaries, strive to find a way to be peaceful regarding your family.
Focus Forward: Don't get stuck in the past. Set small goals for tomorrow or next week.
Declare Victory: Be proud of yourself! Celebrate when you make good choices or maintain your balance.
The Stability Formula It is truly courageous that you are proactively seeking ways to manage your mental well-being. Your willingness to try new techniques demonstrates remarkable inner strength.
Support + Intentional Self-Awareness = Stability.
Next, Practical techniques to build self-awareness. Self-care tricks to help balance out your days. The Trigger Journal Lite. Instead of overwhelming logs, note just 3 things daily could work. THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER HERE. As long as you try to track it some way. It will be of great benefits to you.
Exaples:
Situation, Saw news about layoffs.
Physical feeling Chest tightness.
One thought I'll fail too.
Patterns emerge in 2-3 weeks without burnout. Body Scans for Early Warnings. Depression often shows in the body first. Set two phone alarms each day.
When they chime:
Scan head to toes 90 seconds.
Ask: "Where do I feel tension/heaviness/numbness?"
SELF-CARE
SELF AWARENESS
This builds somatic awareness before thoughts spiral. Mind in-the-Moment (Rescue Techniques)
The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Hack When overwhelmed,
Name aloud.
5 things you see blue mug, plant leaf.
4 things you touch Jean's texture, my ring.
3sounds AC hum, birds, keyboard"
2 smells
1 deep breath.
Small acts rewire the depressive feedback loop. Proactive Self-Care Frameworks. HALT Check When mood dips. Ask: Am I...
H_ungry?
A_nxious?
L_onely?
T_ired?
Interrupts rumination by forcing sensory. Opposite Action Skill, DBT-inspired. When depression urges isolation and or inaction,
Urgent: Stay in bed all day Action: Open curtains sit near window for 5 mins.
Urge: Avoid friends Action: Text one person Thinking of you.
Key Principles for Sustainable Practice
Start absurdly small: Brush teeth for 60 seconds counts as self-care victory.
Depression lies to you about what helps you deserve to suffer counter with: Suffering isn't earned
Track progress weekly, not daily: Depression recovery isn’t linear look for slightly less bad moments.
Collaborate with your therapist:
Bring these notes to sessions. Ask: How can we adapt these to my treatment plan?
Self-compassion isn't soft its strategic armor against depression. Every time you choose kindness toward your struggle, you weaken its hold.
Informing Future Support:
As you MIGHT HAVE READ mentioned a few times throughout this site, this record becomes a valuable resource. if you seek further mental health support, whether for the same or different reasons. Being able to articulate the specific skills you've learned and where you learned them. That can provide context for therapists or other professionals. Allowing them to build upon your existing strengths and knowledge. For instance, knowing you practiced active listening techniques in your anger management support group can inform discussions about communication strategies in therapy.
Reinforcing Learning: Consciously identifying and noting a new skill helps solidify your understanding and integration of that skill into your daily life.
Building Self-Awareness: Tracking your skill development provides a tangible record of your progress, fostering a greater sense of self-efficacy and motivation.
Facilitating Skill Transfer: Recognizing the specific skills you've gained in one context (like a support group) can help you consciously apply those skills in other areas of your life, such as your relationships, work, or personal pursuits.
Examples of Skills: to Track (and their potential origins):
Active Listening: Learned in the (Name of Support Group) through observed modeling and group exercises.
Identifying Anger Triggers: Discussed and analyzed in the (Name of Support Group) during sharing sessions.
Relaxation Techniques: (deep breathing): Introduced and practiced in the (Name of Support Group) led by (Facilitator's Name or type of leader)
Assertive Communication: Role-played and discussed in the (Name of Support Group].
Cognitive Restructuring (challenging negative thoughts: (Shared as a coping strategy by a member in the (Online Anxiety Support Group) or presented in materials from [NAMI].
Empathy and Perspective-Taking: Developed through listening to diverse experiences in the a (General Mental Health Support Group).
Problem-Solving Strategies: Collaboratively explored within the (Bipolar Disorder Support Group) when discussing personal challenges.
How to Track Your Skills: You can use a simple journal, a note-taking app on your phone, or even a dedicated spreadsheet to track this information. For each skill you identify, note:
The Skill: Be specific "Using 'I' statements in communication".
Where You Learned It: Name the specific support group, workshop, book, or other resource.
Brief Context: A short note about how the skill was taught or shared.
Date Optional but helpful: When you first became aware of or started practicing the skill. By intentionally tracking the skills you gain through support groups and other resources, you are actively investing in your ongoing mental health journey. This practice not only acknowledges your progress but also equips you with valuable information to navigate future challenges and seek support effectively in our fast-paced society.
Things we struggle with could very well be the lessons we're here to learn or balance out from past experiences. It's like the universe giving us a chance to round out our soul's resume! Thinking about what doesn't come easily or feels "off" can be just as telling as our strengths. Consider these areas:
What tasks or activities do you actively avoid or procrastinate on? Is it dealing with finances, public speaking, physical activity, confrontation? These could be areas where you felt overwhelmed or had negative experiences in the past.
Where do you feel the most resistance or frustration in your daily life? Are you constantly bumping up against the same kinds of problems in relationships, work, or personal habits? This might point to recurring patterns you're trying to break.
What are your biggest fears or anxieties? Are you afraid of heights, water, public humiliation, being alone? These intense emotions could be echoes of past traumas.
What kind of environments or social situations make you feel deeply uncomfortable or out of place, even if yo can't logically explain why? Do certain historical periods or social structures feel intuitively wrong to you?
What are some of your "bad habits" or self-sabotaging behaviors? Could there be coping mechanisms that were necessary in a past life but are no longer serving you?
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