How to Take Care of Yourself during Difficult Times
Life is a never-ending cycle of ups and downs. One moment, it feels like you are at the top of the world and the other, you are experiencing the lowest of your lows! But isn't it making life weirdly worth living?
With the pandemic slowly hushing down comes many things to catch up with. Whether it be for school, relationships, career, and life itself. The grind of pursuing what we thought time robbed us of during the peak of the pandemic is starting to be overwhelmingly unreal! Besides, who does not want to make up for the losses? But while the new world is coping with how everything turned out, we can all agree on how exhausting it all gets. The constant pressure, expectations, competitions, and the seamless race that comes to our minds.
In a busy world, slowing down and intentionally setting time to process life is crucial. It is easy to be at peace with ourselves when we feel good, but ironic that we usually even fall into bad habits when experiencing difficulties - a time we need ourselves the most.
Wherever you are in life, and especially if you are at such a difficult time, here are ways you can take care of yourself:
Have some me-time
It is easier to listen to others when we are at war with ourselves and things are just kind of messed up. But it is not always the best thing to do. Most of the time, we only need ourselves, the time to reevaluate our lives, and a space where our bodies can feel at ease.
We need to be able to breathe, think, and feel as deeply as we can. Spending alone time makes you have clearer thoughts and perceptions of life. It is easier to deal with circumstances when you have a firmer point of view and you are not meddled by the voices of other people.
There are so many things in the outside world that get in our way of doing the right things. Its effect on our bodies is extremely toxic for our well-being, without us even knowing.
Do what you love
As we grow up, we tend to get caught up with busy schedules and forget the things that once filled our time. The game that made you stay up all night? Play it. The movie you used to binge-watch all day you almost forgot to eat? Rewatch it. The book that made you cry your heart out? Read it once again. Not only will you reminisce who you were and what your reactions were, but you might also come to realize you have grown to be a different person now... and you might as well be proud of it.
Discover something new
If there is one thing that really also helps when going through a difficult time, it is knowing that life is short and the world is too big to spend on dull moments. As cliche and as hard as it may sound if you are at a moment in life when nothing seems to feel like making sense, give life a little more chance. Find the things that spark the light in you and if you are lucky enough, hold them close.
Whether it is a new coffee shop, a book genre, a new workplace, new hobbies, or new friends, explore the vastness of life and as they say, find and go to places where your heart feels the most alive. Discover more of you as you discover more of what you love.
Connect and disconnect
Connecting with loved ones is always a beautiful thing. It feels like you are a kid coming home with cookies and all the wonderful stuff, and you know you are always in good hands. When going through difficult things in life, there is no place like the comfort of home with the people you love. Spend time with them and cherish every moment together (even when you are not in a hard place!).
On the other hand, taking a detox from digital space is necessary for the way you think. We know that every now and then, we want to see people on social media who feel the same way as we are and empathize with them. But it is important to know that in the end, we all have different circumstances and what works well for them may be dangerous to you. Disconnecting from social media would help you deal with life in a way that is healthy for your well-being and suited for who you are as a person. Also, blue light may give you a hard time resting!
Get more sleep
Sleep more! Give your body time to wind down and restart. Not because it will help you kill time and forget about all the bad things for a while but because sleeping will help you recharge your energy and function more effectively. Having enough sleep will give you the right state of mind to decide logically and tackle life soundly, compared to when you are sleep deprived and groggy.
Cut off stressors and triggers
One of the most crucial things when in a difficult place is we tend to depend on vices to cope with our emotions. Whether it is going to clubs every night, drinking excessively, smoking too much in a day, or eating unhealthy foods, we all want to do these to feel something and escape. But while these offer temporary relief for most, the lifelong consequences are no joke.
If you are in a difficult place, as reasonable as it is to dwell on these triggers, avoid as many of them as you can. One way to do this is to seek a friend's help and list the things you should avoid as a mechanism and create a list of healthy alternatives instead. You will thank yourself in the long run!
Treat yourself
Treating yourself goes beyond your favorites. Aside from buying things that will only help you temporarily, treat yourself to things that last longer and mean so much more than their value. Treat yourself to moments and experiences that make life feel worth living, for example! Treat yourself to a trip to a new city, an experience of going to a historical museum - anything!
Another good example is treating yourself to an experience of unboxing a pajama subscription box every month! As we are focused on sleep and self-care, the products that come inside our perfect to add to your nighttime routine. The goal is to make you feel good as you sleep, while you snooze, and even more energized once you wake up. The pajama set in each box is thoughtfully selected for every season and is always comfy and stylish.
Investing in moments, experiences, and things to treat yourself during a difficult time is worth every penny. Not only is it ego-boosting, but you are also teaching yourself to be kinder to yourself!
We know it is not always feasible to do all these things at once - and you don't have to! In the end, it all boils down to knowing how to treat yourself the right way when you are going through a difficult time. Just like with everyone else, we must know how to be gentle with ourselves, regardless of which situation we are in life.