Taking care of yourself can feel like a really big task, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Learn to manage your physical, mental, and emotional health so that you can enjoy your day-to-day life more and reduce the risk of various health problems later down the road. From getting adequate sleep to setting healthy boundaries, you’ll be pleased by how quickly you notice a difference in your quality of life when you start making your health a priority.
1. Tending to Your Mental and Emotional Health
- Take time to check in with yourself every day. If you like journaling or keeping lists, spend a few minutes at the end of each day reflecting over what went well, how you felt, and anything that was upsetting. If you aren’t a fan of writing things down, take a couple of minutes to sit quietly and think about your day. Ask yourself these types of questions:[1]
- What made me happiest today?
- What are the positives in my life?
- What am I putting off or procrastinating?
- If I had time, what would I like to be doing?
- Is there negativity I can remove from my life?
- Incorporate more joy into your life to increase your sense of well-being. Instead of focusing on the things you don’t have, choose to focus on what you do have.[2] Commit to finding the good in every day; you could even try keeping a "joy list" where you write down things that happen during the day that make you joyful.[3]
- Take time to do things that bring you joy, too, like listening to music, dancing, cooking, reading, or going to a yoga class. Make these things a priority so your week is infused with joy-giving activities.
- Similarly, taking time to laugh every day can boost your emotional health. Surround yourself with people who make you laugh or try watching a funny movie or stand-up comedian to give yourself some much-needed laughter-therapy.
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Set boundaries for your time and space so you can take care of yourself. A boundary can be between you and another person, or it can be set up to protect your time so you can take care of yourself. Here are some common ways you can set up healthy boundaries in your life:[4]
Manage work stress by checking your email twice a day rather than getting a constant influx of notifications.
Turn off your phone when you’re with loved ones so you aren’t distracted from what’s happening in the present.
Distance yourself from someone who is emotionally needy and who takes advantage of you.
Tell friends to text or call before they come over rather than just popping in.
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Learn to say "no" so you don’t overcommit your time. When someone asks you to do something, take a minute to check in with your gut and your calendar to see if it’s a reasonable thing for you to agree to. If it isn’t, say something like, "Thanks for asking, but I’m going to have to pass this time," or "I wish I could, but the next couple of weeks are really busy for me."[5]
A great question to ask yourself when you’re trying to decide if you should commit to something is, "If I say ‘yes’ to this opportunity, what am I saying ‘no’ to?"
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Reduce the amount of stress in your life so you can enjoy things more. If you are stressed out all the time, it can affect your physical, mental, and emotional health. To reduce stress, try doing something physical, like exercising or getting a massage. You can also try meditating, removing yourself from stressful situations, or working on your time management.[6]
For example, if you are often stressed because you tend to run late, set an alarm for 10 minutes before you need to leave home.
You may not always be able to get yourself out of stressful situations, so focus on the things you can control. For instance, you may not be able to just quit a stressful job, but you can set up boundaries so that your job doesn’t encroach on your time.
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Connect with friends regularly to build a strong support network. Relationships are super important to your mental and emotional health, so don’t neglect your friends even when your life is busy. Reach out to others, ask them to talk on the phone or meet up, and take turns sharing, listening, and having fun together.[7]
If you’re struggling to see your friends because of your schedule, text or call them to let them know you’re thinking about them and want to connect. Maybe you could schedule an early-morning breakfast date before work or even run errands or do homework together.
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Challenge yourself to learn something new to keep your brain happy. An engaged and challenged mind is going to be a lot healthier than one that is bored. Pick up a new hobby, learn a new language, travel someplace you’ve never been before, take a class at your local community college, join a gym, or do something else that you’ve always been curious about.[8]
The internet is a great resource for learning new things. You can find blogs, videos, websites, and books that can teach you about almost anything you’d want to learn.
If you start learning something new and find it isn’t for you, that’s okay! Don’t force yourself to continue. Let it go and choose something new to focus on.
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Talk to yourself in a kind way to encourage a positive outlook. Pay attention to what that little voice in your head is saying to you—chances are it might not be great! Self-doubt, insecurity, and even self-hate are common things that everyone deals with from time to time. Identify the things you are saying to yourself and about yourself, and replace those statements with positive affirmations.[9]
For example, if you often find yourself thinking, "I’m stupid, there’s no way I can do this," try reframing that thought into something like, "It’s okay that this is hard, and I can do hard things."
If you tell yourself bad things about your body or personality, try instead to focus on the things about yourself that you love or want to love. For example, instead of saying, "I’m so fat and ugly," say, "My body is capable of wonderful things. I’m grateful to it."
It can take a long time to stop talking about yourself negatively, so be patient with yourself. Incremental baby steps will eventually add up to a big change in your life.
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Unplug from your electronics to lower stress and practice mindfulness. Being constantly connected to others can be a blessing and a curse, and sometimes it’s healthy to disconnect, ground yourself, and connect with the world around you. Try instituting an "unplug" day or period where you turn off your phone, shut off your television, and close your laptop. Your mind will start to relax and you may even find that things that seemed overwhelming before are much more manageable than you thought.[10]
You could even try out a "mini unplug" where you turn off your phone every evening an hour before bed and don’t turn it on again until an hour after you’ve woken up in the morning.
Try This Out: Challenge yourself to unplug from your electronics 1 day a week for a month. At the end of the month, reflect on how your stress level has changed.
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Seek professional help if your health is interfering with your life. Maybe you need to ask a friend or family member for help, or maybe you need to see a professional for help with anxiety or depression. There is no shame in admitting you need help—remember that you are doing your best, and everyone needs help sometimes.[11]
Asking for help can be as simple as asking someone to help you with finishing a work project, buying groceries, or watching your child so you can have some alone time.
If your emotional and mental health is making it hard for you to do your work, get out of bed, or enjoy things you used to, call a professional to schedule an appointment to get the kind of help you need
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