Tips and Tricks for Self Care

Every day I write down something that makes me happy/comforts me/ makes me smile/feel good. It doesn’t have to be something that happened that day, just something different than I’ve written before. It doesn’t have to be big, but should be something fairly timeless that could be replicated (I.e. the feel of freshly cleaned towels straight from the dryer). That way when things suck and I feel a like nothing will help, I go back to that list and find something that will make me feel good or soothe me. It may not change my medical condition in the moment, but it does jumpstart my endorphins and help my mental health. Proactively I try to do 30 minutes of a stress management activity every day (often something from that list), like puzzling, crochet, gardening, etc— something that is low pressure, doesn’t make my brain think of grim things (like reading often might, depending on what you read).