My current self care strategies

I have wrote about the importance of self care in previous blog posts (including this one), and I think most of us know we should be looking after ourselves. However, life gets busy (particularly if you are a PhD student like myself), and it is often easy to forget about self care. Often it is not until you feel really stressed, run down, or something bad happens, that you realise how fragile your mental health is, and how important it is to try to keep your soul alight.

For me, self care has never been more important than in this last month and I have definitely dedicated time to finding new self care strategies.

These are my current favourite soul warming activities:

Taking a bath (with Lush products):

I have always found baths relaxing, and I have recently been turning my bathroom into a jungle oasis so it is such a lovely place to spend an hour. Also what is a bath without lush products? Not one I want to be in!

Surfing:

I am not a good surfer, but I can stand up- and that isn’t the point anyway. Being out in the ocean, exercising your body & catching waves is such a great way to forget about the world for a little while.

Yoga:

I think we all know that yoga is great for the mind, body & soul. I have been trying to go once a week.

Nature walks:

Similar to the benefits of surfing, being out in nature is a great way to declutter the mind.

Dumplings:

Eating good food, is a very, very important self-care strategy. My current obsession is dumplings!

Surround yourself with good people:

Share your days with people that bring happiness to your life. Put in the effort to spend time with these people as often as you can (or just send a text to touch base). It is important to know that whilst you need to look after yourself (through self care strategies), you do not always have to do it alone.