Cause self-care is more than just floatin in fancy water
So like everyone always talk about self-care like its this magical thing where you just pour some lavender water in a tub light a candle and suddenly ur zen. And yeah bubble baths are nice dont get me wrong, but real self-care… its kinda messy, messy but good. I mean like sometimes u need more than just floatin and pretending your a fancy spa girl on tiktok.
For me, self-care is random. Like one day I’m baking brownies at 2am cause i feel sad about work, next day I’m walking around the block pretending I’m in some cheesy rom-com scene. Self-care isnt about looking cute for IG. Its about actually doing stuff that makes u feel better. Even if it looks weird.
Move ur body even if u hate gym stuff
Ok, so yeah a lot of people hate exercise, me included most days. But moving around even 5 or 10 min makes ur brain chill a bit. Don’t need to hit gym. Just dance like lunatic in ur living room, chase ur dog, or do those 5 min yoga vids where the instructor is way too happy at 6am.
Some science thing says moving releases endorphins or whatever, which is ur brains natural “yay” chemical. Sometimes it feels fake but like sometimes fake turns real. One night i danced to dua lipa at 1am cause stressed abt work… 2 songs later laughing at myself and emails totally forgot. True story.
Eat stuff that actually makes u happy
Self-care also means food. Not kale smoothies, unless u like that. I mean food that makes ur soul happy. Comfort food? YES. Ice cream for breakfast? totally ok. Society tries to guilt u but brain likes joy.
One night i made huge bowl of mac n cheese and ate on floor scrolling memes. Was it messy? YES. Did i care? nooo. Thats self-care. Its about letting yourself have little joy, messy or not.
Digital detox (or just scroll weird stuff online)
Another thing… sometimes self-care is giving ur brain break from social media or notifications. but also… weirdly… some ppl feel better online. like my friend watches conspiracy theory tiktoks for 1hr and feels calm? humans r weird.
Even scrolling with no pressure is freeing. Add music, or stare out window, watch ppl walk by… nice tiny self-care moment.
Creative chaos = therapy
Ever just doodle nonsense or write bad story that makes no sense? Surprising how freeing it is. One afternoon I cut stuff from old magazines and glued them randomly. Mom walked in “wtf r u doing?” Me: shrug. But i felt lighter. Creative chaos lets brain release tension Netflix cant.
Even little creative stuff works. Playlists, bad poems, moving furniture around just to see what happens. Not about perfect, about release.
Small acts of kindness even for yourself
Weird but true, self-care sometimes is tiny acts of kindness for yourself. Post-it on mirror: “u kinda awesome, spilled coffee today, so what” or send dumb meme to friend and get weird emoji back, laugh. Tiny joys matter. Buy flowers for urself, watch reality tv u secretly love.
Sleep like ur life depends on it
Sleep is underrated. Not just sleep-in-weekends sleep. Like real 7-8 hrs sleep. Adulting is hard I know, phones exist, Netflix exists. But dim lights, phone away, maybe hot drink. I tried it last week woke up feeling less zombie like. Small win, honestly.