In the exhaustion of daily life we often overlook taking care of ourselves. And this negligence if pursued for a long time affects one’s mental health negatively. A Psychologist in Lahore believes most mental issues can be treated if everyone starts loving and taking care of themselves. Here is how you can be lovable towards yourself:
Make yourself a priority:
Most adults look over their own needs and put others’ needs on top. Looking after others is a great thing to do but taking care of your own needs is your responsibility too. For example: Our minds and hearts feel guilty if we sit in a corner to read a book and decline our friends for a night out or put our kids to bed early to enjoy some alone time. It is time we come out of these guilt trips and learn to say no or prioritise ourselves. If you are not feeling like going out or you don’t want to sign up for a project you should listen to your feelings without having second thoughts. Nobody is going to take care of your needs, only you can do this for yourself. Making your needs and choices a priority is what everybody owes to themselves.
Take breaks:
You don’t feel like getting up and starting the day or going to work seems like a burden every other day. The reason behind these frequent burnouts is nothing but your body’s way of telling you to take a break. Taking a break can be like stopping your chores for a while amidst a chaotic day and making a cup of coffee. Or maybe getting up from your desk and doing stretches or talking a tiny walk on the floor. Taking these 10 minutes out after every 2-3 hours is what your body and mind needs to keep on functioning regularly.
You can even take major breaks and plan a trip to a place you like. The misconception that keeps most of us from taking vacations frequently is that one must have lots of money to go on a vacation. But the real idea about vacations is to take a break from the daily grind. And this break can be taken by going to the countryside for a few days or spending quality time with loved ones on a beach hut for a day or two.
Go to your favourite place:
Your kids want ice cream but you want to have a cup of coffee from your favourite place. So you drive to the ice cream parlour and then go back home because you didn’t have any strength left to drive to your favourite coffee place. What you should have done in this scenario is look for that last ounce of strength and drive to your favourite place to have that cup of coffee. The joy of doing something for yourself is priceless and everybody should feel this joy. Going to a place you like can brighten your mood instantly. But the dilemma is we are always ready to go an extra mile for people around us but we hardly go even a half mile for ourselves.
Make time for your hobbies:
You were a reader, a musician and a painter but now you are just a CEO or a mother. Why did you leave your hobbies behind? Why can’t you make time for yourselves? Why do you feel guilty when you leave some work undone and start painting or reading your favourite book? It shouldn’t be this way. According to a Psychologist in Doctors Hospital putting yourself last can have serious impacts on your mental health. Everybody should at least take out some time to practise their hobbies. Hobbies help reduce stress by giving you a freedom to express your feelings.
