Self-Care Tips During the Pandemic
During this pandemic, it is crucial to maintain your mental health through self-care. Self-care allows for us to engage in coping tools that are effective for us. What may work for one may not be as impactful for another. Therefore, it is important to understand what activities bring us joy and calmness versus those that are potentially anxiety provoking.
Here are some tips to help build awareness and self-compassion.
1. Notice when you are experiencing an uncomfortable emotion or physical sensation.
2. Identify the emotion(s) or physical sensation(s): For example, “I am feeling nervous right now” or, “I am noticing that my jaw is clenched”.
3. Validate yourself for feeling these emotions or physical sensations: For example, “It is okay to feel nervous” or, “It is normal to have tension when worried”.
4. Express kindness to yourself for experiencing these uncomfortable sensations: You can express, “May I be kind to myself” or, “May I be strong”.
5. Soothe yourself for feeling the uncomfortable sensations. Sometimes, having a cold glass of water or warm cup of tea can help to soothe the uncomfortable experience.
These are some examples of self-care activities you can try:
-Diamond painting
-Paint by numbers
-Board games
-Acrylic pour (you can YouTube various types of acrylic pours)
-Indoor herb gardens
-DIY projects
Author: Bhavna Verma, Registered Psychotherapist