Now that the long month of January is over, we can start to get excited for the year ahead – so let’s start with the month of LOVE!
Whether you have a partner or are flying solo for Valentine’s day, this day is for everyone to find some time to love themselves.
Here are some tips to practice your self-love:
- Give yourself time to relax in a calm atmosphere.
Whether that’s time in the morning before you start your day or before you go to bed, give yourself some peace and quiet to help relax and clear your mind. These could be things such as doing a short meditation, reading a book, having a relaxing bath, listening to a podcast or writing down notes in a journal.
- Unplug yourself from social media.
Having a social media detox can be very helpful for your mental health! Even if its just for a day, turn off your notifications for social media, avoid the TV/news and go off the grid for a while. Go for a walk, meet with friends or enjoy having some detox time at home.
- Treat yourself the way you treat others.
We are all very good at being negative about ourselves and can be terrible when it comes to loving ourselves. Show yourself the same love, kindness and respect as you would do to others. Motivate, love, help and respect yourself!
- Its okay to say NO.
Being burned out can feel like mental exhaustion, lack of motivation for yourself and feeling tired/unwell. This can be from doing too much and putting your body under stress (even without realising!). Sometimes it’s okay to say no to helping someone out and giving yourself the time your body needs to recuperate.
- Recognise the negativity that doesn’t serve you.
In order to manage your mind and stress, removing/limit any extra stressors in your life will help with your daily state of mind and allow you to focus on things that make you happy!
Using these suggestions should not just be for this month, they should play a key part in your life all day, every day.
Written by Charlee, HI Therapies Assistant Manager