The everyday pressures that women face can be daunting. From the morning wake-up calls to the kids, making lunches, school drop off, getting to work, having dinner planned, and on and on and on. It seems that a woman’s to-do list is never-ending. Women are tasked with being the caretakers of the world leaving it increasingly difficult to care for oneself. To compound the everyday stressors women face with a mental health or substance abuse problem can be tragic. For women, developing simple self-care strategies can be key to recovery and success in life-long recovery. Often we overcomplicate things and make goals seem unattainable. Starting with the basics, we will explain what self-care is and why it’s important, the difference between self-care and over-indulgence, and give you 5 easy activities to help sustain and nourish a healthy lifestyle during and after recovery.
What is Self-Care and Why is it Important?
Any behavior or action a woman participates in that helps her avoid a health problem is considered a self-care activity. Self-care activities should contain all the elements of a holistic approach, including mind, body, and spirit. The intentional act of caring for yourself helps to promote physical health, emotional health, and overall well-being. For women in recovery, it is vital to establish these simple self-care activities that can help keep you in recovery long after treatment ends. The key is to identify where you need care and find a way to meet that need. The importance of self-care for women in recovery cannot be overlooked. By keeping you feeling your best, promoting positive and supportive relationships, and reducing stress levels, the benefits of self-care are invaluable.
What is Self-Indulgence?
Often confused with self-care, self-indulgence is completely different. Self-indulgent activities may fill our immediate needs but it does not contribute to our overall well-being. These decisions are usually spontaneous and usually rooted in emotion. Often these self-indulgent acts satisfy our momentary desire for pleasure, wants, and whims. It is common to have feelings of guilt after self-indulging. Remember that self-care is not selfish and should not come with feelings of guilt.
5 Simple Self-Care Strategies for Women and How They Help
Do you have the desire to create a future in recovery that is full of health and happiness? Below we will discuss 5 easy self-care strategies you can use during recovery. Establishing these routines now will make them part of your daily routine long after your treatment has ended. Let’s take a look at each activity and the benefits they possess for women.
1. Reduce Stress Levels
How many times have you been to a medical professional and they ask if you are experiencing stress? This is a laughable question. Who doesn’t experience stress?! The key is to manage levels and find healthy outlets that let you decompress and unwind. The list of activities available to anyone and free of cost is long. Simple activities like breathing, meditation, calling a friend, taking a new route to work, smiling, and sleeping are all beneficial to reducing stress. The following 4 activities are all designed to help reduce your stress level.
Health Benefit: Elevated stress levels can increase your chances of heart problems, diminish your immune system, and high stress is also known to be contagious. By reducing your stress you are actively lowering your chances of heart problems, strengthening your immune system, and ensuring that you can manage other stressors that come your way.
2. Get Some Sun
Soaking up the sun is full of health benefits. Make a point, even if it’s only for 5 minutes, to go outside during the day. Besides absorbing some sun, you can combine many other self-care strategies with this activity. Examples are walking, reading a book, breathing fresh air, or exercising. All of these also come with health benefits for women.
Health Benefit: Sun exposure is necessary for our bodies to be healthy. Sun absorption helps the body produce vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for preventing bone loss, reducing the risk of heart disease, helping with weight loss, and promoting good mental health.
3. Bubble Bath or Essential Oil Bath
Often women get busy taking care of everyone and everything else, and they will neglect themselves. A simple activity can be taking a warm bubble bath, possibly even adding essential oils which all come with distinct benefits.
Health Benefit: Taking a bath will not only relax your body but also benefit your mind. Taking baths helps promote relaxation, soothe sore muscles, relieve stress, improve sleep quality, increase circulation (promoting heart health), and many other benefits.
4. Start and End the Day with Gratitude
It can be so easy to get lost in all the things that “suck”. How often do you wake up in the morning and immediately start thinking about everything that must be done throughout the day? Or, is it at night when you lay down to rest and your mind starts racing through all the things that went wrong and what tomorrow’s worries might be? It is vital for your mental health and physical health that you learn to focus on the positive. You can start by expressing gratitude for a new day as you wake. Saying the words out loud can be more powerful than just thinking about them. Purchasing a journal or a notebook is another great way to actively focus on what you are grateful for. Write at least 5 positive things every night before bed. This allows you to meditate on many things and revisit your words in hard times.
Health Benefits: Practicing gratitude is linked to lowering depression, anxiety, and stress levels. On top of that, it can also be beneficial in strengthening your immune system. Gratitude practiced in the evening will also improve your sleep quality. Naturally, women struggle with self-esteem issues, and in recovery, these feelings can be devastating. Practicing gratitude and focusing on a positive outlook can increase your self-esteem, giving you an optimistic outlook.
5. Listen to Good Music
Oh, the sweet sound of music. Music can be overlooked as an effective tool for improving mental and physical health. Different types of music can stir up different emotions and feelings and even control our moods. Women, being emotional creatures, can be positively impacted by a variety of music. Music can be easily accessed at any location. Create a playlist for different situations. This ensures you have a soundtrack for each emotion you may encounter.
Health Benefits: The health benefits of music are many. Physically it has been proven that listening to music can alter your heart rate, breathing rate, and even blood pressure. Of course, these physiological changes are dependent on the type of music you are listening to. If you want to relax, make sure you are listening to calm music and nothing too fast or upbeat. Music can also be beneficial in expressing emotions, stirring up positive memories, and increasing gratitude.
Start Today, It’s Simple
As you can see, incorporating self-care into your daily living is vital for your overall health. It will also sustain your recovery by promoting a holistic lifestyle. By reducing your stress, soaking up some sun, enjoying a relaxing bath, practicing gratitude, and immersing yourself in uplifting and relaxing music, you are nurturing your body, mind, and spirit. These simple yet powerful strategies can powerfully impact your recovery and future. If you are looking for support, consider Diamond Recovery Center, a women’s residential rehab in Kaysville, where you can focus on your recovery in a supportive and understanding environment. Empower yourself with tools to care for yourself, your well-being deserves to be a priority.
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