Self-care and self-love on bad days

podcast

Oct 19

you know those days where a bunch of little things go wrong and it all just culminates over the span of a few hours and it seems like the world is against us? I had one of those days last week and decided it would be a good theme for this week’s episode of small steps to self-love. After all, this is a podcast about the ups and downs of self-love and mental health so why not show you those days? Let’s dive into how you can show yourself self-care and self-love on the tough days, because those are the days it matters most.

image of shelby leigh holding her phone with a yellow background. text reads this is how to show yourself love on bad days.

the episode

On these days, I try to remind myself: will this matter tomorrow? Will this matter in two weeks? Will this matter in a month? Will this matter in a year? And of course if it will matter in a month or a year then it's something important of course. If it's something that maybe won't matter tomorrow then we have to let those things go and not hold on to that anger or sadness.

The other thing to remember is to rest if possible and try to step away from the situation. I have a tendency that if something is not working, i just keep trying to make it work, but sometimes we need to take a step back. For example, I was sitting at my computer talking to customer service which is never fun and trying to resolve something that was gonna take a few days but I wanted it resolved right now. So instead I took a step away and gave myself an hour to breathe and relax. Resting is definitely self-care, but doing something that really makes you happy and energizes you is another option, even if it’s just for a little bit.

Why self-care matters

Self-care will help you form a better relationship with yourself. It's a way to be mindful of and learn what you need to feel good mentally and physically. The times that I sit and journal in silence is one of the ways I practice self-care. And even though it's unintentional, my best ideas come in those quiet moments with myself. It can be hard to prioritize ourselves when we have other people in our lives, when we have work, family, whatever else is taking priority, but we have to make time for ourselves too.

In addition to journaling, I also love getting outside and being active. I know not everyone can or enjoys doing that, but for me being in nature is really inspiring and takes my mind off of my problems.

The third thing I love is doing anything creative as it really energizes me. Focusing on creative writing, creative things with my business like this podcast. I think it's so important to have these creative routines and kind of treat it as a priority in your life if you have a passionate creative passion. Maybe you're more of a numbers person, math or science person, honor that and turn to it on your bad days!

Time is the most precious thing that we have and not appreciating our time and ourselves and how we spend our time is not something we want to look back on and regret. Set aside a little bit of time each day to focus on you and make it a priority.

How our listeners practice self-care

I asked my audience what they do for self-care on a bad day so I wanted to share some answers! I ask these regularly on Instagram so if you want to have a chance at being featured in a future episode, follow me on Instagram @shelbyleighpoetry and tune into my stories where I post these questions.

The first response was so in tune with me and what I love, they said they blast happy music and dance. They also said they clean the house and I don’t like cleaning at all, but blasting happy music and dancing is definitely a joy for me.

Make coffee, get under a blanket, put on a comfort show or movie, and curl up with a book. Absolutely. Sometimes diving into a fictional world can help take your mind off things. Other replies were cuddling with cats, go for a walk, listen to your favorite music, hide in solitude to order your thoughts, and have a good cry.

I think that it's important to recognize if we're always just keeping things in that it can be really hard on our mental health. Even if we are turning to poetry which is something that I definitely do, it's also really really important to speak to other people to find that support system.

Small Step

In every episode I give you a small step to take on your self-love journey and I really want you to focus on self-care this week. I want you to take those actions we talked about, set aside time in your day, and do something that makes your mind and body feel good. Go on a walk, watch your favorite show, talk to a friend, write, journal, dance around your house blasting music. Really make that a focus for yourself this week.