The No Bullsh*t Guide to Self-Care

Self care has become a pretty hot buzz word in recent years, but often associated with face masks & candles - this is our no BS guide to self care for those days when you need a little bit more!

LUX WMN

21 September 2023

Over recent years, self care has become a trend that typically features lighting a candle, running a bubble bath & doing a face mask. As much as that can help, self-care is also about using practical and effective methods to improve the state of your mental health as well as making you feel more balanced.

The pandemic played a key role in the sky rocketing of the self care/wellness industry. Whether you were rolling your face with a gua sha, making face masks from home or trying our new skincare trends you saw on TikTok – we were subconsciously fuelling the self care world into what it is today. The self-care industry has increased its market value to approximately $1.5 trillion, with an annual growth rate of 5%-10% in recent years. We’re the first to admit that a bubble bath & face mask is necessary sometimes but it’s just as important to implement different ways of putting time & energy back into yourself in order for you to continue thriving, succeeding and achieving – still self-care, just a little less…bubbly!

Journalling

Now before you roll your eyes, journalling does not have to be an everyday activity. Sometimes you don’t feel the need to write anything down or maybe you feel like you’re in a pretty solid place with your mental health. That’s great! Journalling is for those times when your mind feels cluttered, you can’t think straight or when you’re mental health isn’t where you want it to be.

You can journal in anyway you like and write about truly anything. Think of it like a brain dump, at the end of the day you write out everything that happened and how it made you feel. When you’re done, the notebook is closed and you’re done. The act of writing our thoughts, feelings and even ideas down not only gets them out of our head, but it makes things feel a little clearer plus it has been shown that those who write down their thoughts or even create a to-do list for the following day have been shown to fall asleep 9 minutes faster than those who don’t!

So if that isn’t a reason to get writing, I don’t know what is!

Movement – literally just move your body!

When we’re having a down day or maybe just aren’t feeling our best, sometimes a little movement is all we need to shift that negative energy and start feeling better about ourselves. Movement has been shown to trigger the release of serotonin & endorphins, aka the happy hormones. In addition, taking a few extra steps or heading over to the gym promotes new, healthy brain cells which can lead to improved brain function. This then enhances our natural ability to retain & recall new information.

With stress becoming more & more of a part of our daily lives, adding in a minimum of 60 minutes of movement a day can offset the negative effects of sitting too much during the day. When we’re active, the stress hormone is naturally replaced with those happy, feed good hormones we talked about.

No matter how you do it, becoming more active can help take our minds off everyday worries as well as increasing a sense of well-being, making us feel physically & emotionally stronger.

Something which is also important to add is that if you’re in a place where even a task like brushing your teeth feels too overwhelming, take a step back and be kind to yourself. Break those down into simple, achievable tasks and don’t put too much pressure on yourself.

Do More of What You Love

Maybe it’s cooking your favourite dish, baking your favourite cookies or watching your guilty pleasure movie on Netflix! It doesn’t matter what it is, but doing more of what you love will help improve your feeling of wellbeing. Taking this time can help ease stress and lift your mood as you step away from life’s daily stressors and focus on putting your attention into things that bring you joy.

Self Development

By definition, self development is the process in which you learn new things and build new skills. These are skills that can help increase your chances of success, achieving your goals as well as manifesting your dreams.

For some it’s podcasts and for others it’s books, no matter what you use it will help to shift your perspective, shed new light on a topical issue or be an insightful resource for you to further understand an area of interest.

Some of our favourite self-development or “self-help” podcasts & books: