Self-care Is More Important Than You Think

Currently, I’m on a very long journey to self-improvement and self-care and I decided that I’d try an experiment. I want to see what will happen if I do just one act of self-care for just one week.

If you read any self-help books or follow any inspirational pages I’m sure you’ve seen many mention the power of making your bed in the morning or telling you to prioritize yourself…

In fact there are many sources that state this to be true such as The National Institute of Mental Health. They mention in this article “When it comes to your mental health, self-care can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy”

Well I’m putting that to the test.

In this little experiment, I want to see if I overall feel better about myself by the end of the week.

See, I’m going to keep it 100% real on this blog. I’ve been truly struggling with my self-image after I had my son and it’s been especially bad this last week. Not only have I just been really depressed in general, my son has also been teething and growing like crazy which makes the poor little guy have a hard time. But that’s not the point…

The thing is I truly can help myself by “forcing myself” to do one act of self-care that helps my confidence daily. It’s really hard to get motivated sometimes especially when I am so absorbed in taking care of my son and don’t think about myself.

I’ll record my mood immediately before and then immediately after. Then after the week is over I’ll explain how it directly affected my overall mood for the week.

My goal is to hopefully find some ways of coping with depression or anxiety and share to hopefully help other people as well.

What is self-care?

Let’s take a look into understanding what self care really is. There’s really a deeper meaning to self-care as it truly is an individual thing. It’s important that you look at your life and think about what truly makes you feel better.

Self-care can come in many different forms. Before I first really started researching mental health treatments, I though only simple acts like brushing your hair and teeth or taking a shower we’re all that really mattered. However self care is anything healthy that genuinely improves your overall mood. Talking with family, watching a funny movie, meditating, yoga, exercise, reading, dancing, singing, laughing, drinking water ect… all count towards caring for yourself..

Don’t give yourself a hard time about finding the perfect thing. Often times I have no clue what will help improve my mood. So I just start. Sometimes just starting with something can spark inspiration… Or it will help you begin the elimination process of finding what works for you.

I recommend using a mood tracker and journal to help you view your day to day life, and to visually see what days were better than others and how to improve. Because although mental illness can be hard to control sometimes even having control over something so simple like drinking 1 bottle of water or looking at inspirational quotes can change everything.

Here’s my experience with the power of self care.

Self-care Day 1: Painted my nails

Mood before: I’m actually not doing so bad today. It was my husband’s day off and we spent some time together. That always cheers me up. Still struggling with my self-image a little bit since this week has been really rough. I’m still hoping this small act can improve my mood.

-My nails have always been something I’ve always been insecure about. I would always bite my nails so short. They were always so “ugly” looking. When I was pregnant with my son I finally decided out of the blue to stop biting my nails. Now I don’t bite them at all and I’m actually really sad that I haven’t painted them much since growing them out some. So I decided it was time!

Mood after: oddly enough painting my nails actually makes me feel good! I’m feeling confident and I honestly only feel happy and proud of myself for breaking a habit that has othered me for so long. I know this seems suuuuper cheesy but this gave me so much serotonin. Seeing my nails when I do anything with my hands makes me feel more put together. I chose a shimmery blue color and love it!

Self-care Day 2: Read

Mood before: I’m really procrastinating on this form of self-care for some reason. All I wanted to do was continue watching the show I was watching. Today was not a motivating day so I just wanted to watch something mindless. I’ve been spending the last hour and a half trying to force myself to read. It’s 10:30pm and I need to go to bed. I absolutely love reading but I guess I’m not in the right mental head space… but I’m going to force myself to read before bed anyways.

-Now, I did this at the end of the day after I put my son to bed. I really procrastinated right up until the time I wanted to go to bed. I was only able to read 12 pages.

Mood after: I actually feel so much happier and I’m feeling pretty great. I just so happened to read a self-help book that I’ve been working on and it really improved my mood and inspired me. I recommend this book called Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo, it is very inspiring and has improved my outlook so much! This book truly makes me feel like I can conquer and obstacle. I really did not expect to feel this great after each small task of self-care, but it’s working!

Self-care Day 3: Braid hair, do face mask and read.

Mood before: I feel pretty neutral today. Neither depressed or happy. I am feeling tired and unmotivated tonight and look forward to the feeling I’ll get after my self-care task.

-I decided to do a face mask/ wash my face tonight but wanted to braid my hair first! Then after braiding my hair and putting on a face mask I decided to read some more of Everything Is Figureoutable so tonight I did 3 forms of self-care! Which proves that you may not feel like doing self-care every day but it does get easier if you force yourself after a few days.

Mood after: I feel super great! I feel so nice and clean and my book really provided some brain food for me. I read some stuff I needed to hear! Overall my mood is completely happy and inspired! I could get used to this feeling. I love ending my hard days feeling on top of the world.

Self-care Day 4: Spent time laughing with my family.

Mood before: today was a rough day. My son was just screaming at me all day and skipped a nap so was very cranky. I’m feeling terrible and hope he sleeps well tonight. I just feel so overwhelmed by life and feel like I’m failing a a mom. Days like these are so hard to overcome with anxiety and depression. I’m not sure if anything can pull me out of this tonight.

-I live with my mom because the city just didn’t like us, and my brother just moved back today too. We are a very close family so it’s always great to get together!

Mood after: Spending time with my family really lifted my spirits. We just watched The Middle and talked and laughed together and it was much needed. I just feel calm, collected and ready to take on tomorrow! Very thankful to them for always being able to improve my mood!

Self-care Day 5: Got ready for the day

Before: Feeling surprisingly good today after yesterday. I feel very motivated to make today a better day than yesterday. Days like this don’t happen too often when I’m feeling depressed so I’m very thankful that I am feeling great. This seems to be working.

The self-care act I chose to do today was put on some nice clothes, and do my hair and makeup. I’m not going to lie usually I rarely even brush my hair in the morning, I throw my hair in a ponytail and start (& finish) my day in my pajamas. I never put in the effort to look good because I’m so focused on taking care of everyone else.

After: I feel so confident about myself and I only put on some light makeup. It feels so great to feel beautiful. It’s been quite a while! Today went pretty great and I think the extra boost in my confidence really helped me push through.

Self-care Day 6: Visited family

Mood before: it has been a hard day and I definitely need a break from being a mom, I’m just so tired and need time to unwind and distract myself.

-We went to my Aunts house today. She has some toys because she has grand babies so it was good to talk while my son played on the floor.

Mood after: I definitely needed some time to just relax and spend quality time with those I love. I feel much better and thankful I have her, my mom, and my husband in my life! We had some great and much needed conversations.

Self-care Day 7: went on a date

Mood before: I’m feeling pretty good today but I think it’s also from the anticipation of going on a date with my husband. It’s been a good week and I’m looking forward to ending it with the man I love most.

Mood after: This date was great! We spent 2 hours just driving in the mountains and talking about everything. We haven’t been on a date in months so it was much needed! I’m so thankful for this wonderful man in my life. And so thankful we got to connect.

My conclusion;

Wow… I did not expect this to work so well! I knew that it could improve my mood but not this much!

The craziest part for me is that I did some pretty simple forms of self-care and it still was an amazing difference. The hardest part about this experiment was forcing myself to start the self-care activities. But as soon as I started, it was so calming!

Last week was one of those weeks where I just wanted to hop in my car and run away. My son has been teething and the poor little guy just wants his mama to comfort him otherwise he’s soooo grumpy. He’s in his screaming phase and it can be so hard for me to not break down crying after a long day of my baby bullying me to cuddle him lol.

I was at a breaking point so I’m very glad I invested in myself and took the time to take care of my needs. I think it’s very common that we as moms put ourselves on the back burner and cook ourselves until we catch on fire…

This could be life-changing…

I seriously recommend everyone try this at least once. This helps give you an idea of the power of self-care. It almost gave me a calming feeling knowing that when I’m depressed I can improve my mood through something so simple.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this, I definitely recommend buying a self-care journal and a mood tracked to see how you can possible improve in the future.

I think if someone were to apply this to their everyday life for a month it could drastically make a difference. Maybe one day I’ll give it a try.

Thank you

I appreciate you for taking time out of your day to read my article! I really hope this was a helpful post for you. My goal here at A Slice Of Kiwi is the uplift and offer support to those who suffer from chronic depression and anxiety like me. Please let me know how you liked this post in the comments!

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With love…