*I want to start these self care posts by saying that I’m not a professional. I’m just someone who suffers from both anxiety and depression. These are all things that I personally do that help me either physically, mentally or both. What works for me may not work for you – so take these ideas as a stepping stone to figure out what resonates with and helps you. Something I DO know is the more consistent I am in focusing on various self care things for myself, the better I feel. As I write these, they will be added to the Self Care page so they can be easily found and not jumbled in with all the blog posts.
Water is such a great relaxer. It doesn’t matter if it’s the feeling of a shower running down my body, relaxing in a bubble bath, swimming in a pool or lounging in a hot tub – they’re all fantastic. I try to always take those moments to enjoy what I’m feeling when I’m in water and not just rush through the motions of getting clean. I do wish I had the opportunity for the pool or hot tub more often – so my only options personally now are the bath or shower. When I first bought my house I had one of those inflatable backyard hot tubs and I loved it so much for the few years it worked until the heating element busted and there was no company support to get a replacement to repair it.
Bath – a nice warm (not too hot) bath helps me sooth my muscles and is so relaxing. If I take one before bed, the cooling of my body after helps to sleep easier too. I love incorporating it into my quiet alone time where I can be isolated and check in with myself. Sometimes I like to kick it up a notch with some bubbles or a bath bomb, but if my muscles are particularly sore, Epsom salts are the best.
Shower – I love that feeling of the water hitting my skin. It’s almost like a massage, especially when I change the intensity of the flow coming out of the shower head. It can be super helpful for clearing the airways with the steam too.
Pool – when you move in a pool, the water creates almost a massaging sensation and provides resistance that’s so much easier on your joints. If you’re swimming laps, chances are you’re doing some rhythmic breathing along with your strokes that help calm you and lower stress.
Hot Tub – the extra heat helps improve circulation. The bubbles and jets give that massage feeling and the combo of that with the heat are a perfect match for maximum relaxation for me. Like the bath, my muscles feel wonderful after a hot soak – especially when my joints are feeing extra stiff.
Do you use water in your self care? I’d love to hear the benefits that you feel when you do.
Until next time, xoxo