Being stuck at home by yourself can be a boring and daunting experience. Here are some self-care things to do while stuck at home alone during quarantine or any other time.
Your physical and mental health is important to your general well-being. Give yourself a better chance of getting through this stressful period with these 5 easy self-care ideas for maintaining mental health and wellness.
They are small actionable steps that you can take daily. These self care tips will help you improve your health and well-being.
Eat healthy
Stress can cause us to make rash decisions without thinking them through. One of which is comfort eating. The food we put into our bodies has a lot of impact on our health. Both physical and mental.
Put some thought and effort into what you eat on a daily basis.
Planning out your meals and cooking them in a healthier way is not only good for your body but a good way to pass time as well.
It’s not always easy to pick and choose healthy options when stuck at home and unable to go out to shop for groceries. But there are some ways to work around this bottleneck.
There are many free resources that you can use to find recipes based on ingredients you already have. No matter how basic or “junk” your ingredients are, there’s always a healthier way to prepare them.
Exercise
Staying active daily is important. More so when you’re in isolation. Exercise is important in keeping the mind and body well. But what sort of exercises can you do when you’re stuck at home?
While it may be a challenge going out for a walk or run during compulsory isolation, there are some other exercises and physical activities that you can do indoors, which you can still benefit a lot from and enjoy.
There are a lot of free and easy workouts and exercise-based activities that you can do. A quick search on YouTube is a good place to start. There, you will find exercises to match your skill level and meet your specific need.
There are also various mobile phone apps you can make use of, if you have a smart phone.
Set goals
Life is very short. It’s important to make the most of it and spend every minute productively. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that can feel like the end of the world. Like being stuck at home in isolation. But it really isn’t.
Life still goes on regardless of where you’re physically located.
So it’s important to seize every opportunity. Just because you’re stuck indoors doesn’t mean life has to stop. Make plans no matter how small they may be.
Set some goals for the duration of your stay indoors and aim to achieve every single one of them. Whether that be hourly, daily or weekly goals, do what makes sense to you.
Your goals can be anything from getting a task done, learning something new or developing a new habit.
Start (and stick) with small and realistic goals. Goals that you can achieve and hopefully enjoy pursuing.
Write a list if you have to and cross them out one after the other as you achieve them. A simple notepad and pen will do.
Look after yourself
Personal hygiene is very important.
If you’re stuck at home and in isolation, you cannot go out to socialize. But it doesn’t mean you no longer need to care about your personal hygiene and appearance.
Keep your body and your surroundings clean and hygienic. Look after yourself for your own sake. Not for any occasion. Being alive is an occasion in itself and worth celebrating and being grateful for.
You don’t have to go to great lengths to keep yourself clean and feeling fresh.
It wouldn’t harm anyone either if you pamper yourself. If you have the resources available to treat and spoil yourself, then, by all means, indulge.
Take a nice relaxing bath, light a candle in the bath or simply soak your feet in nice warm water. Do whatever works for you.
A clean body and surroundings will create a sense of peace and calm within you, which is very important in these troubling times that we find ourselves in.
Stay Positive
Staying positive is very important for mental health and well-being. You will go through all sorts of thoughts and emotions when isolated or stuck at home. Some of which may not be positive or healthy.
You need to lean to counter negative thoughts and emotions with positive ones. It’s not always easy or sometimes possible to do so.
But you can always incorporate a little positive spirit into your daily life. For example, you can use positive words and affirmations to help you get through the day.
Affirmations are encouraging words that you can say out loud or read quietly to yourself.
You can also journal your thoughts and emotions. Seize every opportunity, transform negative or idle thoughts into positive ones.
Other positive self-care things that you can do include: reading a relaxing book, listening to uplifting music, or meditating. Something as simple as getting some fresh air can also have a huge mental boost.
If you have a loved one that you can call on the phone and speak to, then that’s a bonus to add to the list.
But above all, stay safe and value each moment you are awake because life is not guaranteed. Nothing is.
Other posts you may be interested in
Daily Self Love Reminders and Affirmations for a Better Life
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Jill Davis, author for Life So Ever
Jill Davis grew up on army bases in the USA and Germany and has spent her adult life on the East Coast. She resides in Virginia where she gets to enjoy lots of hiking trails, kayaking, and other outdoor adventures. No recipe intimidates her and she is always up to try most foods. Her second language is sarcasm and she always looks for the good in life.
