What and how do you nurture your self-care? Are your current practices enough? Or would you need to allocate more time or change something in your life to help you to pay attention to your self-compassion? If yes, perhaps you can pick something up from the list below and implement it is your daily life.
Take a Break
Remember to take regular rests throughout the day – plan them in your calendar. Sometimes heading outside can be extremely beneficial, even if it’s just for a five-minute break.
Set Goals
The overarching key to preventing burnout is to reduce the stress levels in your life. One way to do this is by setting short-term goals. Break down your obligations to small, attainable chunks that are reachable.
Be mindful about your calendar and set boundaries
If you have the tendency of not wanting to disappoint people it can be very difficult to say no. Resist the urge to automatically take on new and bigger commitments immediately and ask for some time to think it through.
Ask for Support
Reduce stress in your life by asking those around you for help. Asking for support is not a sign of weakness, on the contrary. It is a sign of self-awareness, competency and self-care.
Connect with Your Emotions
When you are feeling stressed and anxious, your brain and body are sending you signals. Listen to them and their advice. They are indicating what you need.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness can help lessen anxiety and depression symptoms, and there are many ways to put it into practice. Take up yoga or unplug from technology and social media. Try out a few breathing exercises or consider seeing a Mindfulness therapist or yoga teacher for a session and explore if this would be something for you.
Nurturing Relationship
And finally: According the longitudinal Grant study from Harvard Medical School, being embedded in caring and loving relationships are essential for our wellbeing. Be sure to read about this amazing research and watch the 5 min video clip where Prof. Waldinger at Harvard Medical School presents the results.
Gratitude
Practicing gratitude daily may have an impact on the view you have on life. Is the glass half-full or half empty. Cognitively it has an impact on us, if we can make the switch and find something that we are grateful for. Research also indicates that when we express gratitude and receive the same, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin, the two crucial neurotransmitters responsible for our emotions, and they make us feel ‘good’. They enhance our mood immediately, making us feel happy from the inside.
