Self-care is always the way in which I get back to me and back into balance. I know myself well enough to recognize the signs just before my wheels come off. This means I can step back into myself with some self-care practice.
Self-care for me means time alone, it means stillness and sometimes even silence. This lone, still and quiet time calms and quietens my brain-buzz. Life is busy and fast and loud and full on. The brain-buzz can build up slowly and then suddenly overwhelm. The more I practice self-care the more I am attuned to the physical signs my body gives me that tell me I need some downtime. I have a few different practices for this; Silent Sundays where I literally turn everything off, all screens, no music, no people. I don’t speak or message anyone. Sometimes I stay home, sometimes I will get out into the beauty of nature. Sometimes it’s only for a couple of hours sometimes if for the whole day.
Downtime for me can also mean wandering around the bookshop or having quiet cup of coffee somewhere. My range of self-care practices span giant grand gestures like a Silent Sunday to simply mean turning off my phone or saying “no, but thank you for thinking of me” to an invitation for a night out which means I am saying “yes to me”. Have you had a beautiful, magical moment? What journey of discovery are you on?
What are your self-care practices? If you do not have any, what might become your self-care practice?