The term “self-care” may sound indulgent or selfish, but it’s actually crucial for keeping yourself physically and mentally healthy. There are many different ways to practice self-care, and one way to do that is to get yourself the occasional gift that helps you feel good or stay healthy.
What is self-care? What are the different types of self-care? What are the best gifts for self-care? Read on to learn more about self-gifting for self-care.
Tips for Self-Care
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker.”
On the other hand, the National Institute of Mental Health defines self-care as “taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical health and mental health.”
Self-care is a way of taking care of your physical health – at a minimum – plus taking care of your mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health as well.
Let’s take a look at some self-care practices for every area of your life, followed by more ideas for self-care.
Physical
First thing first: Without caring for your physical health, you could encounter other health problems and make the other types of self-care more difficult. Physical self-care includes how much physical activity you do, how much sleep you get, your nutritional intake, and more.
Good physical self-care involves eating healthy, exercising, getting plenty of sleep, taking necessary medication, and attending healthcare appointments as needed to keep your body in the best condition possible.
Mental
Mental self-care involves things like doing puzzles to keep your mind sharp as well as maintaining a healthy inner dialogue by practicing self-compassion and acceptance. Make sure you take time for activities that mentally stimulate you and help you stay mentally healthy.
Emotional
Everybody faces a wide variety of emotions every day. How you handle your emotions can have a huge impact on your well-being. Emotional self-care is about finding activities that help you recognize and express your feelings safely and regularly. This may involve talking to friends or family members, setting aside time for leisure activities that assist you with processing your emotions, or going to therapy.
Social
While everybody has different social needs, humans are social animals by nature that require close connections with others for optimal well-being. In fact, loneliness and social isolation increase the incidence of dementia, heart disease, stroke, and premature death, making socialization nearly as important as exercise for living a long, healthy life.
Whether it’s in person or online, make sure you set aside enough time each day or week to nurture and build relationships with others.
Spiritual
Research shows positive associations between spirituality and psychological well-being. Spirituality doesn’t require religion; it involves anything that helps you connect with the universe or develop a deeper sense of meaning and purpose. Spiritual self-care can involve anything from praying to meditating.
Self-Gifting for Self-Care
Both giving and receiving makes us feel good. (Speaking of giving, why not send flowers just because and accept your loved one’s gratitude as a form of self-gifting?) Throw in the added emotional benefit of taking action rather than being passive, and you can start to see why self-gifting is an important part of self-care.
While the simple act of self-gifting is excellent for self-care, you can double the benefit of self-gifting things that help you take care of yourself, like a gym membership or a game to play with your friends.
Keep in mind that self-gifting doesn’t even have to include spending money on physical items. You could give yourself a gift by dropping a commitment that is causing more stress than it’s worth or by taking some time to practice gratitude every evening.
Best Gifts for Self-Care
Whether tangible or intangible, here are our suggestions for the best gifts for self-care.
Start a Flower Subscription
If you adore flowers, flower subscriptions are an excellent way to ensure you always have fresh blooms to fill your home with. At The Bouqs Co., our flower subscriptions give you up to 30% off and free shipping on every delivery along with access to a curated collection of floral arrangements from eco-friendly farms. Choose delivery intervals as often as every week or as infrequently as every other month.
Don’t want to keep all the flower joy to yourself? You can change the address and date for each delivery, so you can also send bouquets for birthdays, anniversaries, and other important occasions.
Get a Gratitude Journal
Taking time to practice gratitude has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression through positive reframing and emotion. Spending a few minutes every evening writing in your gratitude journal may help you go to bed feeling more positive about your life rather than stressing about all the negative things going on around you. This, in turn, could potentially help you sleep better, so you feel better both physically and emotionally.
Buy A Monogrammed Robe
What’s comfier for some me-time spent on self-care than a fleece robe? Customize it with your name or initials so you truly feel pampered in this plush hooded fleece robe. Robes are available in charcoal, white, or navy, and embroidery color options include white, silver, gold, lemon, hot pink, emerald, teal, royal blue, and many more.
Indulge Your Nose
There are lots of ways to indulge your sense of smell. Whether you prefer reed diffusers, perfume, an essential oil diffuser, candles, or anything else, treat yourself to your favorite scents and gift yourself the experience of appreciating the scent in moments of tension.
Having your favorite scent in the air can help you practice mindfulness by living in the moment and focusing on the aroma for a minute rather than whatever is bothering you.
Get a Massage
Whether you go to a professional massage therapist, buy a massager, or ask your partner to give you a massage, loosening up your muscles in this way has many potential benefits, including:
- Improved immune function
- Lowered blood pressure and heart rate
- Improved alertness, energy, and circulation
- Reduced muscle pain, tension, and soreness
- Increased relaxation
- Decreased stress
- Reduced anxiety
- Fewer headaches
- Decreased insomnia
Stock Up on Sunflowers
Is there a happier hue than yellow? We think not! A beautiful bouquet of sunflowers could be just the thing when you’re working on mental or emotional self-care. It’s hard to be sad when looking at the sunny petals of these blooms, making them an excellent choice for self-gifting in the winter, when you may be seeing less of the sun and experiencing negative side effects (or struggling with seasonal affective disorder).
Dance Like Nobody’s Watching
Shut the blinds if you need to feel less insecure, but dancing is really good for both your physical and mental health. Some of the many benefits of dance include:
- Improved cardiovascular health
- Better flexibility
- More core strength
- Can help you feel socially connected
- Helps maintain bone density
- Assists with weight loss
- Can help bust stress
- May prevent memory loss
- Can increase self-esteem, decrease anxiety, and improve psychological well-being
Buy a Therapy Lamp
Do you start to “feel it” when it’s been cloudy or rainy for too long and you haven’t seen the sun for a while? Do you get a little blue when the weather is gray? Do you have seasonal affective disorder (SAD)? UV light therapy lamps (like the Verilux HappyLight) provide your body with the UV rays you’re missing, which can help with SAD, jet lag, sleep disorders, shift work, and other problems associated with lack of light.
Adopt a Pet
Did you know pets are proven to help their owners live healthier, happier, and longer lives? Some of the many benefits of pets include:
- Better physical health
- Reduced feelings of loneliness
- Better mental health
- Reduced stress, discomfort, and pain
- Improved cognitive function
- Reduce depressive symptoms
You can feel even better about gifting yourself a pet when you adopt one from a shelter or rescue. Always do plenty of research before getting a pet and make sure you can provide it with everything it needs to live a healthy, happy life.
Invest in Great Sheets
Egyptian cotton? Silk? Jersey? Flannel? Whatever fabric you prefer, get the best sheets you can afford. If you make it so you can’t wait to slip into bed every night, you may be more likely to go to bed on time and get better sleep, which can help you feel good.
Host a Game Night
Get together with your family or friends for a game night. Looking to add to your board or card game collection? We like the OK Boomer Trivia Game, where the goal is to collect one card from each generation’s deck by correctly answering the trivia question. From Gen Z through to the Silent Generation, this game covers history, trends, science, entertainment, and more.
Buy The Self-Care Cookbook
Especially helpful if you’re vegan or vegetarian, The Self-Care Cookbook features over 60 plant-based recipes based on the concept of eating as the ultimate form of self-care and self-love. Take care of yourself by recognizing what your body craves and cooking wholesome, nourishing food.
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