Self-care is self-love. I know you love yourself and yet it can be hard to show it with action. For some reason as a busy mom, it seems so much easier to take care of everyone first and leave yourself to be second. While it’s easier, it’s not right. You deserve more. You deserve to put yourself first. The magical part is that when you put yourself first everyone and everything around you gets better. It’s a big leap but one that is well worth the risk. A key part in taking care of yourself is making sure that you take care of your mental health. Here are five ideas for mental self-care to keep you going and being your best.
Read
Reading can be amazing. For mental self-care, make sure that you are reading something you love. Put away the self-help and the learning books and instead open up a romance novel, mystery thriller, or even comic book. Indulge in a book you love. Whatever it is that you’re into read that for 10 or 15 minutes a few times a week to help restore your mind. A bonus is to read in natural light. Taking the time to read can feel like a luxury, it’s one that you deserve.
Learn A New Skill
Learning a new skill is a form of mental self-care. Take some time each week to teach yourself something new. There are plenty of different ways to do this no matter how much time you have or your budget.
If you’re looking to learn in person try meet up.com or course horse for live classes that you can take on anything from glassblowing to welding to cooking to painting to Spanish or Japanese.
If you don’t have time to go to a class or the budget then try learning something online. Lynda.com is a great resource for online classes. You can find an online class for just about anything you would like. You can then take that class at your desk during lunch or even lying in bed looking at a tablet.
If you don’t want to spend any money at all, you can learn from YouTube. Youtube has thousands of free videos on how to do just about anything.
Clear Clutter
Our minds and our bodies are connected. When your space is cluttered your mind cannot be still. Look around at the environments you inhabit. What do they look like? What are your home, office and car like?
If you have a lot of clutter it could easily be contributing to any frazzled feelings you might have. Clean it up. If your car is a mess or your house is full of clutter, take some time to clean it up. If you don’t have time to fully clean the house then simply hide the clutter. Put everything into a laundry basket and hide it in the shower. You could also shove it all into one closet or under the bed until you have a moment to properly clean.
Get the clutter out, it will help you to relax. The same goes for your office. If your office is a mess, everyday you’re sending signals to your brain of uncertainty and chaos. Clean it up. Clearing clutter is a form of mental self care.
Color or Paint
Coloring is a form of mental self-care. Adult coloring books have become a thing for a reason. That reason is, they work. Take a moment to release your inner artist and color or paint. Don’t worry about whether or not you are Picasso or Rembrandt simply pick up some crayons and a piece of paper then let your hand get to work. If you really want to invest, you can purchase a watercolor kit or an artist set on Amazon or at your local Art store. That’s not necessary though. Simply go into your junk drawer, find an old crayon or two, get a scrap piece of paper or the back of a used envelope and began to create. Taking the time to color is an amazing and budget friendly form of mental self care for busy moms.
Meditate
Meditation is the ultimate form of mental self-care. Even the busiest mom can find two minutes to meditate. If you’re thinking that your mind is so busy and you have so much going on meditation is not for you then I would argue you are exactly the kind of person who needs meditation. Meditation helps the busiest minds the most. It’s not hard, though it does take practice to get used to.
Here is a simple form of meditation that you can try.
- Set a timer on your phone for two minutes.
- Breathe in deeply through your nose so that your belly expands.
- As you breathe and think to yourself “love in”.
- Breathe out as slowly as possible. As you breathe out thing to yourself “love out”.
- Repeat this breathing in and breathing out pattern until the alarm goes off.
Another option is to repeat the same pattern but as you breathe and imagine peace filling you and as you breathe out imagine all of your stress releasing through your breath.
Take action
Self-care is self-love. Self-care is not passive. In order to take care of yourself you need to take action. Here you have five ideas for mental self-care, specifically designed for busy moms. Choose one of these ideas and implement it today. You can download the cheat sheet below and paste it on the inside cover of an office notebook or your refrigerator to remind you to take the time for mental self-care.
Get tips self-care tips for burnt out moms here.
Don’t forget to sign up for the Rose Gold Mine, my free resource library. You’ll get free printable worksheets, workbooks, and checklists to help with goal setting, time management and self-care for busy moms.
Learn to ask for support and free your time without letting go of our responsibilities at How To Get Unstuck.
