Self-Care for Stressful Times
Self-care is essential at any time in your life but it’s particularly important when you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed.
By treating yourself kindly, recognizing the difficulties you’re going through, and enhancing your self-care routine, you can limit the negative impact stress has on your mind and body.
Self-Care Tips
For inspiration, take a look at these top self-care tips for stressful times:
Get to know your stress signals
Everyone responds to stress in different ways, so get to know your unique indicators of stress. Some people may lose their appetite, for example, while others may have more skin breakouts.
Similarly, some people may want to spend more time surrounded by other people, whereas others may yearn for isolation and solitude.
By understanding and recognizing your own stress signals, you can respond to them more quickly. Often, we don’t realize just how stressed we are until we notice these indicators.
Recognizing these cues empowers you to make healthier choices that support both your mind and body, grounded in insights from psychology.
When you can recognize the need for self-care more quickly, you’ll be able to respond to stress in a more proactive and effective way.
Nurture your skin
When you’re feeling stressed, it’s easy to abandon your usual self-care routine. This may mean not bothering to remove your makeup at the end of the day or skipping your weekly exfoliation session.
However, now is the time to enhance your self-care regime, not discard it altogether.
Stress has a major impact on the skin, so nurturing your body can help to reduce signs of stress and make you feel more pampered, cherished, and confident.
If stress is making your skin drier or causing breakouts, be sure to choose products that have natural, calming properties.
You’ll find that major skincare brands, like Clarins, make it easy to find out what ingredients they use and why. This information can help you to find products that will de-stress your skin.
Spend more time outdoors
If you want to cocoon yourself inside when you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, try to encourage yourself to spend more time in the great outdoors.
Being surrounded by nature is a great way to relieve anxiety and reduce your stress levels.
What’s more—the extra Vitamin D boost can restore your energy and make you feel more confident.
Hiking, jogging, or even a brisk walk around the block are also great ways to incorporate exercise into your day. Known for its stress-relieving effect, exercise is a top self-care tool.
When you work out, your body releases ‘feel-good’ hormones, known as endorphins. These help you to feel happier, calmer, and more positive.
By getting outside, raising your heart rate, and doing a little exercise, you can minimize the physical, mental, and emotional impact of a stressful situation.
Take Time for Yourself
We all know self-care is important but it’s easy to ignore this when life gets busy. If you don’t prioritize your well-being, however, you’ll find it harder to operate effectively at home, school, or work.
By making self-care an essential part of your schedule, you can transform your outlook and live a happier, calmer, and more stress-free life.
