Can you remember the last time you put yourself first? If you’re like most people, it’s probably been a while. We get caught up in the busyness of our busy, spending time focusing on what needs to be dealt with and leaving very little time to focus on our needs. It can feel impossible to find a moment to breathe, let alone do anything for yourself when you are juggling work or school, family, and chronic illness. Learn how to improve self-love with 10 easy ways.
How Can I Build Self-Love Routines?
The problem with pushing through, keeping up, going to medical appointments, and making time for everything or everyone else is that you end up empty and depleted. Self-love is an essential component in your mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional wellness. When your overall wellness is in balance, your symptoms may decrease, or you may find your condition has gone into remission. No, it’s not a cure, but you are winning any time you can reduce the impact of your disease on the quality of your life.
There are many ways you create habits that will help you put self-love and self-care back as a priority. Best of all, they don’t require a lot of time or money!
10 Easy Ways to Improve Self Love
- Just say no: When you have a chronic illness, energy is at a premium many times. Setting boundaries (using the word ‘no’ and showing people you mean it) determines what is worthy of your time and energy. Best of all, the word ‘no’ is a complete sentence and doesn’t require a justification. You can’t always use it, but consider saying no to mundane tasks or people who just take it from you, so you have the energy and strength to do something for yourself.
- Take a walk: Many chronic conditions come with a side of pain, not to mention exhaustion. The last thing you may want to do is get up and move, but something as simple as a short walk outside can help reduce your stress levels. You will notice your mood change if you can manage a 10-15 minute walk a day because nature is a natural mood lifter. Whether you do this alone, silently observing the beauty around you, or getting out with a friend, this is a great way to move your body without punishing it.
- Journal: Writing down (by hand) your thoughts allow you to declutter your mind. This practice also helps put your worries or fears in another place, which can help manage anxiety. Whether you let random thoughts cover the pages or you take time to document your wins or hopes, this process allows you to get back in touch with yourself. Whether you start your day with this process or use it as an unwinding routine at night, writing down your emotions helps get them out. Any time you can get them out, rather than bottling them up, you have a powerful way of reducing the possibility of flaring up your condition.
- Find your groove: Did you know that music plays a vital role in our emotional, physical, and even mental health? Nothing can soothe frazzled nerves from a bad day or a horrible flare like music. So create yourself a playlist that you can access for those days or whenever you want a little pick-me-up. Maybe, you want to have a playlist for starting your days and another as part of your unwinding ritual. Do what makes you happy!
- Sleep on it: Living which chronic conditions are hard enough, lack of sleep makes it harder to cope with stress and everyday tasks. The fact is inadequate sleep harms wellness and can make specific symptoms worse. An easy starting point is to prioritize going to bed at the same time each night. Why not turn off your electronic devices at least an hour before you are ready to go to bed? This way, your brain starts to shut down, and you can avoid any external stressors.
- Ask for help: This one was a big one for me. No one wants to feel like a burden, and let’s face it, a lot of times, our conditions already make us feel this way. So rather than asking for help, I struggle, depleting my energy and increasing my pain. Not only is it an uphill struggle, but it’s a lonely one. So, don’t waste your precious time or energy when someone else can assist you. It’s important to remember that people who care about your want to contribute and make a difference. They see you struggle and want to make it easier. So, swallow a bit and allow them to help you by asking for help. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; instead, it is a considerable strength.
- Detox the toxic people in your life: Take the time to identify the people in your life. Ask yourself if they support you or do they bring you down? If they discourage you or focus on negative things, you don’t need them taking up your time, emotions, or energy. Develop and maintain firm boundaries with these people. Your chronic illness may make certain things more of a challenge, but it doesn’t eliminate your worth or the amazing things you will do.
- Talking to yourself: When you speak to yourself, do you use words of love and encouragement, or do you use negative comments? We’ve all called ourselves an idiot from time to time. Still, if your inner voice always talks to you in that negative tone or makes you feel unworthy, you need to change the narrative. Negative self-talk harms your wellness by impacting your emotions, your mental image of yourself, and your confidence. Instead of getting down on yourself when you make a mistake, congratulate yourself for learning something new. You’ve learned what not to do and better understand why you didn’t get the outcome you wanted. There are many ways you can change how you talk to yourself, so take some time and start to consider how amazing you are.
- Practice Gratitude: Appreciating what you already have is a powerful act. You don’t have to be appreciative of everything, but when you take the time to consider the good in your life, your perspective changes. A shift in your perspective allows you to see that while you may be having a bad day, not all days are the same. You can even find something good within a bad day if you try hard enough! When you start to have an attitude of gratitude, your emotional, mental, and spiritual health may change, which will impact your physical symptoms.
- Go guilt-free: Just about everyone I know with a chronic condition feels guilty. We feel guilty about our diseases, limitations, etc. When you decide to practice self-love, which is putting yourself first, some people will try to make you feel guilty about this too. You can’t possibly be the best you, managing your symptoms and living well if you don’t put yourself first. And when you are in good health, you can be more fully present and involved with others. So drop the guilt and any feelings about selfishness. You deserve to have the same energy, time and love that you give to others.
As you’ve probably figured out, there are many ways to build self-love into your daily routine. When you have a solid self-love routine in place, living with your chronic condition can become more manageable. These routines do not need to take a lot of effort or time. In fact, with a solid commitment to loving and respecting yourself more, you are well on your way.
You are worth it!