Self love. What an interesting topic right? Many think that “self-love” is selfish, or vain. In fact the truth of the matter is that self-love is a basic human need. Just as a parent takes care of their child, you must take care of yourself! Here’s fifteen ways I suggest you love yourself, during this stressful and weird time. 

First thing is first. Turn off your phone. The news. Your computer. Take breaks from this bombardment of media and information. It’s not natural for us to have to deal with so much information at once, especially such negative information. Your brain and soul needs a rest. Try to limit the intake of media to a minimum. If you like keeping up with the news that’s great! But limit it to one or two credible sources to keep yourself up to date and leave the rest. I don’t even watch the news. I’m of the opinion of “if it’s THAT important I will hear it from someone else”. No need to make yourself sick with worry. 

Take a deep breath. How often do you think about your breathing? Oxygen is a much needed element for your body to function properly. Go ahead and take the deepest breath you have taken all day. Exhale audibly. How does that feel? You just meditated! Working on your breathing helps ground you in the moment, which helps with anxiety – which is just worrying about a future that hasn’t happened. You can look up meditations to listen to on youtube or you can download an app on your phone. My personal favorite is called Breathe. Breathe allows you to enter your emotions and it gives you meditations for your chosen emotions. For example if you are feeling happy it will give you a meditation for gratitude. If you feel stressed or angry it will give you a meditation for calmness. The only difference between the paid and unpaid version on this app is the length of the meditations. So you don’t have to dish out money to get the most out of the app. (This isn’t sponsored I just love this app)

Because of our current situation a lot of us have lost the structure and routine of our lives. I know I’ve had a hard time with both my eating schedule and my sleeping schedule. At first it was like vacation…a weird apocalyptic vacation…but still. The problem was that I would forget to eat. I would go to sleep really late. We need to keep our minds and bodies healthy. Try to keep a regular sleeping schedule in the same time frame every day. Also try to eat at least two meals a day. Everyone knows how much food their body needs in accordance to how much activity they have that day, so try to eat in proportion to that. 

Read some books! This is the perfect time to whip out that new Libba Bray novel, or to re-read your favorite book. If you’re anything like me you love to read, but for some reason we just “don’t have the time”. 

Go for a walk! It’s not healthy for your body or your mind to stay cooped up inside. Stretch your legs and get some sun. Sunlight makes your skin produce vitamin-D which is a vital vitamin that helps your entire body regulate itself. 

Make yourself a cup of tea and grab your colouring pencils. Take your mind off of any impending tasks you may have with a little break. Sip on your favorite earl gray and colour in a colouring book – stay within the lines or draw your own pictures! Coloring.ws has tons of pages ranging from tiny details to big shapes and forms. 

Who else here is a Harry Potter fan? This is the perfect time for you to have a movie marathon! Or how about watching all of the Marvel films in the order that they happened? (This does not mean the order in which they were released but the order in which the events in each movie happen in the Marvel cinematic universe). Pop some popcorn and happy watching!

Remember that 2000 piece puzzle your uncle got you as a gag-gift? Why not try and put it together now? Once you finish it you can seal it with some modge-podge glue, or any clear glue using a paintbrush and hang it up! If you want to get fancy you could even get it framed. 

Spring is in full gear right now. If you are lucky enough to have a garden you can start putting it to good use. If you live in an apartment a little  bucket or some pots will work too. Things you can plant that are easy to take care of are herbs like cilantro, basil, parsley, dill, or onions, tomatoes, beans, peppers. Most plants are pretty forgiving and don’t need much attention. 

Start a new hobby! With all this time you can dedicate it to yourself. What better thing to do than grow yourself and your skill set? Maybe learn to knit or like many people are doing right now – start a sourdough starter and bake some bread! 

Run yourself a hot bath and listen to some music. There are a lot of things from your pantry that you can add to the tub to give yourself an at-home spa experience. Baking soda is very good for your skin for ph balance. Salt baths help with sore muscles. Olive oil and coconut oil are hydrating. Lemon or orange zest have a nice smell. Rose petals are romantic. Make it your own by combining whatever you want.

Do some yoga! YogaWithAdrienne on youtube is one of my favorite yogis and she is so nice to watch! She does at home yoga for beginners to advanced – just choose a video or a playlist and get started! She’s great because not only does she show you the moves but she goes slow and explains it to you. Not to mention she has an adorable dog named Benji who occasionally makes a cameo in her videos. 

Declutter your house! “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” is a great place to start this process. She has a show on netflix where she explains to you her best and easiest tips to living a stress free, clutter free life!

A wonderful thing you could do for yourself is to make a list of things you are grateful for. Too often we think only about the bad and what is going wrong (especially right now) that we forget how fortunate we are.

And last but certainly not least – send some gifts or letters to your friends and family. When was the last time you wrote a letter? This is a fun and easy way to keep in touch with family that is much more personal than a simple “missing you” text. 

This post was written for Lil Something.