It’s crucial to take a breather whenever you feel overwhelmed by the pressures of work and life. While a healthy diet and exercise are definitely beneficial for your physical and mental well-being, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to self-care.<\/p>\n
To help you develop your own self-care routine, we spoke with licensed psychologists\u00a0Laurie Sharp-Page<\/a>\u00a0and Dr. Roxy Zarrabi<\/a>\u00a0for seven important pointers.<\/p>\n Reflect on what self-care means to you<\/strong> Consider the basics<\/strong> Invest in self-care items that protect your energy<\/strong> Consider self-care items that help you feel grounded<\/strong> Be sure to include some fun activities or hobbies on the list<\/strong> Personalize your self-care checklist<\/strong> Make a flexible schedule<\/strong> xx, The FabFitFun Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":"It's crucial to take a breather whenever you feel overwhelmed by the pressures of work ...","author":7532747,"featured_media":142820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/03102829\/daria-shevtsova-F2WkASk1ELE-unsplash.jpg","thumbnail_url_middle_card":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/03102829\/daria-shevtsova-F2WkASk1ELE-unsplash-386x200.jpg","formated_date":"July 1, 2019","category_name":"Wellness","category_icon":"https:\/\/d3vodd1ws13xud.cloudfront.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10113835\/health-2.svg","author_name":"Courtney Leiva","trending":false,"sponsored":false,"random_color":"#39dd8e","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7532747"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u201cSelf-care looks a bit different for everyone, and it usually is so much more versatile than the spa and face mask images that immediately come to mind,\u201d says Zarrabi. \u201cImagine what your life would look like if you made your self-care a priority,\u201d Sharp-Page adds. Try to think of how you would schedule your day, how you would feel, and let yourself really visualize what good self-care would look like.”<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s important to consider the self-care basics that provide you with the right fuel to tackle your day,\u201d notes Zarrabi. Evaluate whether there are ways you can increase your self-care in the areas of diet, exercise, and sleep, she explains.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt can be beneficial to consider self-care items that protect your energy,\u201d Zarrabi advises. These activities may not be fun or exciting, she explains, but they can be just as important as the basics.\u00a0\u201c[Even] something as simple as saying no is self-care, so try to pay attention to the things you do throughout your day that honor your needs and wants,\u201d Sharp-Page adds.<\/p>\n
\n“These items will look a bit different, and you can engage in them whether you have a lot of time or are short on time,” Zarrabi explains. Some examples include a two to five-minute meditation, a brief walk, listening to upbeat music, or stretching, she says.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt can also be fun to include activities or hobbies on the list that bring you joy,\u201d Zarrabi says. If you\u2019re not sure where to start, she suggests reflecting on activities that brought you joy (regardless of the outcome) when you were younger.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cDecorate your self-care checklist and make it your own, and then put it up somewhere you will see daily,\u201d suggests Zarrabi. Try to implement at least one item from the checklist every day, she suggests. However, if that feels like too much at first, she advises aiming for two to three items on your checklist a week.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMake two different schedules for when time is abundant, and for challenging weeks where your time may be more limited,\u201d Sharp-Page suggests. Always try to give yourself permission to be flexible with your self-care, she adds.<\/p>\n