The Self-Care Tool Kit: 20 Powerful Self-care Ideas to Support Your Nourishment of the Self Journey
Hello Dear Reader, once again! Long time, no see. I Know I have been absent for quite sometime now; but trust me, it was needed. Even so! I am back and strong with more info related to wellbeing and in a very cheerful mood I must say. So, with great excitement here I bring this new post called The Self-Care Tool Kit: 20 Powerful Self-care Ideas to Support Your Nourishment of the Self Journey
I suppose that later on; after some time passes, I will share my latest crossings that required almost every single self-care tool in my kit if not all of them to be successfully used.
Stressful past month.
I don’t know about you but September 2021; was a crazy month for me. Extreme situations and emotions all over the place to be released.
It is the way it is. Right?
We plan and then life happens right?
However, I do remember that before, during a stressful situation.
I always used to rush, stressed, manage unnecessary levels of anxiety, smoke, drink, eat fast foods, sweets and in general be as reactive as I could to “deal” with it.
It’s just I genuinely didn’t know how to handle self-care in levels that would make me become my own best friend as I do now fortunately.
Before; Self-care kit?! Nonexistent.
Self-care kit during a healing journey?… what healing journey?!
Nourishment of the self-Journey?… wha?…
So now that I have managed to be witness how useful and how effective they can be.
I wanted to share with you this information in order for you to always take care of yourself and experience the vicissitudes of life, such as it is on a nourishment of the self-journey in a more kind way.
But, Wait a minute.
What is Self-care, though?!
Isn’t eating chocolate watching a movie or buying yourself a lovely gift actions of self-care?
Well… self-care is much more than just self-indulgence.
Self-care definition:
The World Health Organization defines self-care as: “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.”
According to this definition, self-care includes everything related to staying physically healthy — including hygiene, nutrition, and seeking medical care when needed.
It’s all the steps an individual can take to manage stressors in his or her life and take care of his or her own health and well-being.
Back in 2010 a study published in JBI Library of Systematic Reviews defined self-care as “the set of activities in which one engages throughout life on a daily basis,” focusing on promoting health, preventing illness, and managing issues that come up.
And nowadays, self-care has become more mainstream, the definitions have started to become more applicable to the general public and tend to focus on tuning in to one’s needs and meeting those needs.
Self-care is anything that you do for yourself that feels nourishing,
Even though self-care means to nourish one self; it is not synonymous with self-indulgence or being selfish.
True Self-care, as every other thing that truly matters in life. Takes work and dedication and leads to better understanding of oneself.
By work I mean that; what nourish your self is not the same that nourish someone else’s self;
We are all different individuals; unique and required different things; so it is our own personal job to discover what it is that we need in order to self-care.
Personal Experience
In my case; being a codependent given my past experiences.
Self-care was such a foreign concept that even bathing seemed like unnecessary and annoying to me.
I swear; I hated showering… not like I didn’t do it though, of course I did.
But you know it always impressed me how for other people was such an amazing momentum and to me was so annoying.
I even remember my best-friend; always telling me how amazing and how delicious steamy showering time was for her.
Trust me, Like I said… a total foreign concept.
Showering, hygiene and all the matter is one of the primary ways to self-care.
I point this aspect out; so you can more or less begin to understand what was self-care to me back then . Meaning; Self-care to me is the one aspect I basically had to learn from scratch and the benefits from true self-care actions still blows up my mind from time to time.
Self-care does not have to be expensive (as many of the things that are important in life).
I mean sure if you have the money to have a spa day after a stressful day, you go ahead.
I mean; why not right?
But self-care during my own healing journey from codependency; took time, dedication, and perseverance.
To discover what activities honored my own self and nourishing my own self, kept changing, and being discovered as I got to know me and begin to heal my true self deeply.
To be honest; I don’t think I will call my journey a healing journey anymore, but nourishment of the self Journey instead.
In my personal experience, it went from healing the self-journey to nourishment of the self.
It truly went from feeling damaged or broken to feel like finally I was reaching out something new, reaching my highest self-potentials.
After this post, I will start using nourishment of the self-journey more or food for the self.
Since I believe that trauma and pain are just a part of the whole life journey I call Nourishment of the self Journey, a necessary part for sure, but not the whole story; and that, along with self-work and effort; will allow us to open doors to highest places of awareness and happiness.
So here I share with you what I have personally experienced as a powerful Self-Care Tool Kit: 20 Powerful Self-care Ideas to Support Your Nourishment of the Self Journey
Dear Reader; I truly hope you allow yourself to be your own best friend and trust me. You will not regret.
The Self-Care Tool Kit: 20 Powerful Self-care Ideas to Support Your Nourishment of the Self Journey
1.- Carefully Chose your foods
First and for most, reduce the amount of sugar and carbohydrates.
Research shows that blue fishes, like tuna, salmon or sardines improves our brain focus and emotions.
They are the best fats, “food for the brain” you can find out there.
Also, Foods like dark chocolate are linked to improve symptoms of depression and another mental health disorders.
Nuts like macadamia; almonds and other healthy snacks, are great “Brain Foods” thanks to the big amount of good fats they contain.
They are great substitutes from sweets cravings.
Also, Green tea is high in L-theanine, an amino acid that might reduce anxiety. One 2017 study found that students who drank green tea experienced consistently lower levels of stress than students in the placebo group.
Dear Reader, you already Know I follow Keto Lifestyle.
If you feel like knowing more about it; Go ahead and read about the amazing benefits Keto lifestyle produces to our mental health.
By eating the right foods and putting efforts in what we eat, we allow ourselves to improve possible mood swings that naturally comes from a nourishment of the self-journey.
2.- Drink Plenty of Water
Dehydration can make you feel tired even when you’re rested.
Men in a study on dehydration reported they felt fatigue, lethargy, and tiredness. These symptoms may be due to low blood pressure caused by dehydration.
Being properly hydrated helps raise energy levels.
Healing journeys often make us feel with low levels of energy, the whole thing can become very exhausting from time to time.
Trust me… I know.
Drinking water allows our body to function better; healthier and more focused.
3.- Consider possible Supplements like Magnesium and Melatonin for a better recovery sleep.
I am NOT a big fan of taking supplements.
But during healing journeys/nourishment of the self-journeys.
Lack of sleep can become as consequence of intense emotional distress or a rise in anxiety levels.
Healing, growing. Can hurt. As we all know.
Supplements like magnesium and melatonin have been found to be helpful for a better sleep during night.
I have shared extensive information related to sleep, in my past posts named:
– The Thing About a Good Night Sleep: 4 Amazing Benefits that Comes from Sleeping Effectively
– 5 Red Flags your Body and Mind shows to let You Know that You did not have a Good Night’s Sleep
– 10 Proven Tips to Have a Better Recovery Sleep at Night
Magnesium helps the body relax. This nutrient reduces stress and helps you sleep longer. In contrast, melatonin helps you get to sleep faster.
Both magnesium and melatonin are used to treat insomnia, sometimes even in combination.
4.- Meditate and Connect from within.
This is one of the main tools I like to highlight every change I get.
Another tool that I consider is life changing in order to connect with your true self.
Meditation; Mindfulness. Is something that needs to be done every single day.
As we get on our nourishment of the self journey; emotions will rise.
Sensation of turbulence and symptoms related to depression, anxiety and restlessness may occur.
Meditation allows to reach higher levels of connection within and higher levels of inner peace.
A study in 47 people with chronic pain found that completing an 8-week meditation program led to noticeable improvements in symptoms related to depression, anxiety, and pain over 1 year.
5.- Listening to Music according to your mood.
Listening to music (the one we like and feel more in touch with), can be a great way to transcend during those difficult times when difficult emotions rise through our journeys.
Studies have found that a calming sound has a soothing effect on the body.
We don’t just enjoy these songs, we can see a physical change in how our bodies respond.
Our heart rate will slow, as will our breathing. Our blood pressure lowers.
We can see the endocrine system, the autonomic nervous system both calm.
Music can help ease muscle tension, lower stress, and trigger serotonin and oxytocin–hormones necessary for sleep.
Scientists have only begun studying the ways we are affected by sound and the relationship between those effects and healing.
Is clear is that the right song can help us better focus, move past pain, and relax. All of these powerful effects are significant parts of the healing journey
6.- Dance your emotions through
Dance mediates in the connection between our body, emotions, and mind.
It serves as a wonderful glue between these important parts of oneself.
Dance may promote wellness by strengthening the immune system through muscular action and physiological processes and, it allows to confront stressors to work through ways of handling their effects.
While we go after making that wonderful connection with our inner selves; sometimes emotions; difficult emotions bubble up from our own unconsciousness.
Leaving us, drained. Tired or just in general demotivated to pursue our journey; there for a good way to start moving forward.
Is by literally moving our bodies through those difficult emotions.
Turn up the volume and try to dance the tune freely.
We all need a break, especially on a nourishment of the self-journey.
Dancing with yourself may be a good way for you.
7.- Mandalas Painting time!
Hold on… what is a mandala?
Mandalas, meaning “circles” in Sanskrit, are sacred symbols that are used for meditation, prayer, healing, and art therapy for both adults and children.
Mandala’s painting; have been shown in clinical studies to boost the immune system, reduce stress and pain, lower blood pressure, promote sleep and ease depression.
“Mandala Painting; creates a different state of mind and allows us to elevate quickly into Alpha waves. At Alpha wave point, it’s easier to learn new materials, change old habits. In other words, it’s an ideal state of mind to change situations involving our body” Author of The Art of Mandala Meditation,” by Michal Beaucaire
Mandala’s painting, turned painting into a way of ease yourself, connecting with a new level of consciousness allowing the possibility of change.
It is a great way to nourish ourselves.
8.- Daily activities AT your own pace.
But because the process of the nourishment of our selves can get rough and difficult at times, especially when we encounter these areas in our lives that need to be healed.
There are days were things to do, routines to follow may get too hard.
Instead of just stopping all together and risking ourselves to fall into self-indulgence and toxic behaviors.
Try to get through the day and emotions; one at a time; doing your daily activities at your own pace.
However accurate you try to be; perfectionism in every single thing you do during the day is unrealistic.
Trying to get everything right in those difficult moments of the process; will leave you nowhere else but fatigue and chronically exhausted.
Better to go one moment at a time, at your own pace. this way: your routine will not threaten your mental health but instead will show you how capable you are of moving forward always, being kind with yourself.
9.- Unplug for an hour.
Sometimes when we feel overwhelmed by something in particular; we tend to rush on things.
Or even worse, we try to solve any situations even though we are highly emotional and basically is imposible for us to make any desition.
To acknowledge to ourselves; the fact that we need to step back and give us a chance is a sign of self-care all together.
Put your cellphone on airplane mode. Withdraw from social media and go into a safe space to process your emotions.
Research shows that the unbearable part of difficult emotions transcends for no more than 20 minutes.
Instead of focusing on other activities that distract us from ourselves and how we feel, we can consciously decide to deal with this.
Just like when we do dedicate time for a friend in need; we need to dedicate and give us space to surrender and release these emotions; especially during the nourishment of the self-journey.
10.- Sunbath Time.
I always talk about the wonders of dedicating yourself 15 minutes of sun every day.
Morning sun preferably.
There’s a scientific reason being in the sunshine improves your mood.
Sunshine boosts your body’s level of serotonin, which is a chemical that improves your mood and helps you stay calm and focused.
Improving, nourishing, healing journeys of the self are not always easy, as I always say.
It requires dedication and somedays we are just put off by everything.
That is why; in those moments, it’s good to use this natural tools the world itself present us to feel better.
Having quick sun baths; will almost instantly make you feel better and its completely free!!
11.- Check in with your emotions:
I believe one of the best ways to keep on track with ourselves is by checking in with our emotions.
Especially at first, during the nourishment of the self-journey; when we begin to acknowledge and become aware of our emotions.
The fun ones and the not so fun ones as well. This can be highly overwhelming at the beginning.
The knowledge of getting to know ourselves and how we feel and react to certain situations is an unvaluable tool to address ourselves more actively instead of just escaping from them by toxic behavior or ineffective methods of distraction
So, every now and then during the day, try to go to a safe place in your house, or office and sit for 10, 15 minutes.
Observe how you are feeling and try to name them. Identify them.
If there happens to be one that is not pleasant at all, do not resist it.
Experience it; and surrender to it, while allowing it to be released.
This is one of the most difficult self-care tools I can think it is in order to take care of our mental health.
And even though is difficult to just sit still and observe these different emotions go through us, it is nothing in comparison to the price we pay to run away from them, only to find them right there when we come back.
12.- Dedicate yourself time to know your emotional triggers.
Dear Reader; What causes you to feel sad? Is there a particular person that you experience anger around?
Instead of being reactive and victim of your own emotional triggers; once you allow yourself to sit with your emotions.
You will become much more familiar with them and you will start to observe patterns.
At first it might feel heavily uncomfortable just to deal with your own emotions and learn how to identify them without judge them.
This will get better, I promise.
Once you do and you start noticing what triggers those uncomfortable emotions.
It will help you surround boundaries around.
Ask yourself what causes your emotions and you will know how to reduce negative ones in the future.
13.- Take a Long, Hot. Bath
Like I have previously said, anything related to good hygiene is considered as primary ways of self-care.
Steamy water; the sound of running water and just overall “Me Time” over the shower can help you enjoy and stick to the present time.
Steamy baths allow to release emotions of anger and anxiety symptoms related.
Also, steamy showers brings physical benefits; such as it lowers blood pressure, relieves muscle tension and Improves blood circulation.
Best of all?! You can add some relaxing music and voila!
A nice spa moment all for yourself at the comfort of your home.
14.- Have a chat with your best friend and gossip away.
I always tend to talk with my best friend about transcending, deep and profound meanings of life.
She is very introspective as well and generally loves to philosophize with me about life itself and the paths we would or would not be destined for.
Heavy talks occur almost every day and we love it.
But there come times where we feel like gossiping about the latest Kardashian news or how the movement of #freebritney has taken yet another twist.
Light talks are necessary as well.
Sometimes we do not feel in the mood for heavy, deep talks.
Or sadness might be making its appearance.
So, the comfort of knowing that someone is there to genuinely talk about anything, especially light talk is very relaxing and calming.
Sometimes days are way too heavy and light talks are just what we need.
Go ahead and talk with your bf and light the mood, have a coffee in the afternoon and spend time together?
Are you guys too far away? No biggie.
Videocall and pour yourself a nice glass of wine (or tea, whatever suits you better)
And talk away about the latest trends.
It is Ok to take time apart from the nourishment of the self-journey, with a trusted person really.
It is healthy even.
Communication with others and socializing is key in this process.
No man is an island; someone said.
Couldn’t be truer…
15.- Watch a Comedy on netflix
Studies shows that Laughing decreases pain, may help your heart and lungs, promotes muscle relaxation, and can reduce anxiety.
Dear reader; I don’t know if you like stand up comedies, but there are also comedy movies and even comedy books as well, that are hilarious.
During this nourishment of the self journey of mine; sometimes I find myself in heavy moods where I don’t really want to talk with anybody.
Therefore I drag myself to watch some funny stand-up comedy and laugh myself away.
Sometimes not taking ourselves way too serious helps our transition from these uncomfortable emotions.
Remember is about to identify them without resistance or judgment that will allow ourselves a space to process them in positive ways, such as relaxing away with a good comedy.
16.- Write your own Journal
I have written about this one previously.
And is one of the key actions for your nourishment of the self journey.
Dear reader, it is in those difficult days where we mostly need to persevere.
Writing your own journal is one of the best ways to y to witness ourselves during those moments and not resist to them or judge them.
We release and surrender our emotions, every time we write down our thoughts and emotions.
Also, the process of writing your thoughts down helps to solidify them.
Seeing them on the paper allows you to see them more clearly and will push you into taking action.
Writing your own journal Dear Reader; does not just apply to negative thoughts or problems; writing down your ideas and ambitions for the future is the first step to making them a reality.
They become the foundation of your action plan, which can then be broken down into achievable steps so that you can reach your goals.
And yes, ultimately; nourishment of the self-journey is about reaching out goals that are aligned with your own genuine self.
It all part of the same process.
17.- Consider Therapy if needed.
Therapy it is not for people who have mental health illnesses only, and I know you already know this Dear Reader.
Therapy is for everyone who have the desire to get better and have a guide through the process.
A psychologist is not a friend; is not a God obviously, much less a perfect person who will tell you the answers of life and will enlighten you through the “right path” whatever that means.
But it will offer guidance when going through rough patches, possible outcomes and thoughts that might cause disturbance inside yourself, and comfort through realizations of possible past traumas.
We do not have to go through alone. Psychologists especially nowadays are a good source of support we might be needing in our nourishment of the self-journey.
18.- Read a nice book that interests you.
I like to read about reactions in our psyche, trauma and emotions, healthy eating habits and so the like.
My husband? He respects it and likes to listen my chatters in the matter; but couldn’t get more bored reading books about it.
He prefers to read in relation to new advances in technology and information technology as well as watching game tutorials. _he is a well-formed gamer_
Me? I respect it and like to see how he plays and knows so much about technology; highly interesting… but couldn’t get more bored reading about it.
Even so, we both go ahead and when stressed and in need to take some time apart.
we go ahead and start reading about subjects that interests us.
Learning something new while getting the physical benefits from reading such as improving brain connectivity; increasing our vocabulary and comprehension, reducing stress; lowering our blood pressure and heart rate, just to name a few; it’s something that definitely motivates us to keep on doing as a self-care tool.
Reading; is the perfect self-care tool for our nourishment of the self-journey.
It is a healthy tool that will help go through rough patch and will allow you to grow in knowledge.
Now… what to read?
Dear Reader: that is between you and your beautiful self; options are endless and subjects of interests are infinite.
Go ahead and explore; the world is yours for you to read.
19.- Do Something You Love Each Day
“If all you can do is crawl, start crawling.” ~Rumi
Sometimes we tend to feel like, doing something we love each day is destined to be huge or take big amounts of time during the day.
Nothing more far away from the truth than that.
Rest is important for sure; just as doing something meaningful to our true self is. Action is as Equally important.
Step out the mundane, step out from the routine and do something new, do something that excites your spirit.
It might be cook something new you have always wanted to try; or walk on a different path to work or start a new sport or dance.
Options are endless and there for you to try them out.
If all you can do is crawling, start crawling.
You deam right Rumi!!
Do something! Activate yourself, try new things small or big.
Life is too short to be doing the same every single day.
Lift up your spirit.
Honor yourself and nourish it with new excitement.
20.- At night; have a hot tea and look at the the stars. _one of my favorite_
This one reminds me of my husband telling me: “There you have the Bright Dreamer Eugenia” … he always makes me laugh.
He is right though…
I believe watching the starts at night allows ourselves to connect from within and with things beyond ourselves simultaneously.
It feeds us spiritually.
Just as dawn is important and a great moment to be on gratitude mode, stars and nighttime is a great moment to reflect on our own emotions, on our experiences and actions.
Looking at the stars allows to see our reflections before going to sleep, transcend beyond problems and submerge into our thoughts in the safety of the night and the safety of the unknown.
It reminds us that there’s a whole universe out there and we are all part of the same huge, enormous, wonderful picture.
In dawn gratitude rises; During nighttime hope shines through like one of them stars in the sky.
Along with a nice cup of tea and a nice soundtrack it can become a magical moment of self-care, where the sense of connection allow us to rise in gratitude for lived experiences.
Conclusions
Dear reader, I hope you find this “The Self-Care Tool Kit: 20 Powerful Self-care Ideas to Support you During Your Nourishment of the Self Journey Post”; useful, interesting, and worth trying for.
I find self-care now; more than ever; an outstanding and exciting area that I would like to encourage you to take action; in every opportunity possible.
It is fascinating how we can be our own teachers; healers and supporters of our nourishment of the self-journey.
Before; when healing. I used to call my process as healing journey; nowadays I think about it more as Nourishment of the self-Journey.
Trauma and healing from past trauma, is just the beginning.
It is painful yes; and sometimes dark, it can feel like a death or the beginning for a metamorphosis.
But it truly unlocks the door for a new experience in life; for some people it might feel like rebirth and the chance to live a before and after in their own lives.
Self-care is a crucial pillar of this nourishment of the self-journey.
In every nourishment of the journey, it’s needed to heal, but that does not mean we are broken, damaged or insufficient.
It just means that; in order to step up into higher levels of consciousness, there is the need to heal and recover from past traumas, that’s it.
I always say this, we are stronger than we think we are, and we all have de capacity to reach out for our highest potentials IF and only IF we are willing to do the work.
These self-care tools can be used whenever our self needs it, which I believe is daily.
Nourishment of the Self Journey is not lineal, is not a straight line to follow step by step, different days, brings different emotions, different perspectives and overall different experiences.
Therefore, it will require different tools of self-care.
The Self-Care Tool Kit: 20 Powerful Self-care Ideas to Support Your Nourishment of the Self Journey Post allows you some options you can choose in order to be kind with yourself; at any time really.
Practice makes perfect, right?
Well, I don’t know about that….
I am not perfect, but I do know about improvement.
So even though at first it might feel strange or unfamiliar, benefits will soon follow.
By the Way Dear Reader, do you have another self-care tool you would like share in addition to this post?!
What do you use as self-care tool to make yourself feel better or to improve?
Let me know in the comments down below!
Till next time Dear Reader.
Sending you love always.
Eugenia Rivero.
