While in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it is easy to feel like life has been put on pause. Social distancing is the order of the day, so meeting up with friends is widely discouraged. A lot of businesses have been closed for a while and so it’s hard not to just look around and simply feel discouraged. But it’s time for a pick-me-up; just because you’re staying indoors doesn’t mean that the world has stopped. It equally doesn’t mean that you should neglect your physical and mental health. You deserve to practice some self-care, so here are five ways that you can get started.
1. Stay active
While some states are slowly beginning to ease on the lockdown, whether public gyms will be set to open any time soon is still to be determined. If you can’t go to the gym, that’s alright, because you can equally adopt alternative methods of staying active. Online workouts, which typically last between 30 minutes to an hour, are a great way to get your muscles burning.
Even more, if you’re a lover of the great outdoors, how about taking up running or jogging on a regular basis? Studies have shown that regular exercise is not just a great way to keep in shape and improve your physical health, but it also has positive effects on your mental health. So if you’re looking for new ways to practice some self-care, start by getting active.
2. Treat your mind to something new
Just as important as treating your body to good spa treatment is treating your mind. Times like this can cause you to develop anxiety or stress, so you should pay attention to your mental health and try to take good care of it. Some of the methods you can try to relieve stress and anxiety include online counseling and online tarot card reading.
With online counseling, you can reach out to a certified counselor or therapist who can help you process all the emotions you are feeling and deal with them in a healthy way. On the other hand, when it comes to tarot card reading, what is seen in the cards can help you understand a whole lot about what you’re going through. It can equally help you look forward, towards a more hopeful future.
3. Order in nice meals
Dining in restaurants may presently be discouraged in order to curb the spread of the virus, but that doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself to a nice meal right at home. Although you may not be able to physically sit in, a lot of restaurants are offering delivery options so that you still get the opportunity to enjoy the meals that you love. Do some research on some of your favorite spots to find out if they’re delivering during this time. If they are, then great!
Also, try and make a whole weekend plan out of it. You can dedicate your Friday and Saturday nights to indulging in some of your restaurant favorites. Also, stay connected with friends and family by having virtual date nights where you all order in from the same restaurant and eat together over video calls. But make sure you don’t forget to go back to eating clean, healthy meals when the new week starts.
4. Pick up a new skill
With all this free time on your hands, you can allocate some of it to picking up some new skills. The internet is a space full of so much useful knowledge, so why don’t you take advantage of that? From Youtube alone, you can learn how to draw and paint, how to fix a sink, and even how to change your car tires. There’s no limit to the kind of knowledge you can obtain.
Think about it, you can impress your boss when work resumes by learning some more advanced techniques on excel and other software and thrill your friends by mastering how to cook some new meals for when we can have dinner parties again. You can pick up a new language, learn how to play an instrument, and even acquire a useful certificate in the process.
5. Create your own home salon and spa
You may not be allowed to go to the spa or the salon, but you can definitely bring the spa and salon home to you. Taking care of your physical body is a form of self-care, and in a way, it positively affects your mind as well. One way you can pamper yourself at home is by giving yourself a spa-style bath complete with bath salts and bath bombs, surrounded by flowers, candles, and some relaxing music.
You can also try out a new skin-care routine with face masks, scrubs, and moisturizers. Even more, you could attempt a home mani-pedi. Are you a daring person? Take the leap and experiment with bold new hair color or haircut. The point of all this is to treat your body in a way that makes you feel good and happy.