We all feel it; whether it’s creeping up on you at the beginning of your day, that mid-afternoon crash or sinking in at the end of your night, we all feel it. That sensation of your energy slipping away from you, the draining feeling you get when you’re finally able to sit down and take a breath. It can fully surround your mind and body like a crashing wave, leaving you in an overall “ugh” state of feeling. In the busy world of today, it can be hard to keep up with the non-stop hours we put in at work and the day to day tasks that consume our lives. We just barely have enough time at the end of the day to collect ourselves and try to recharge, just so we can do it all over again the next day and so on. It’s an endless cycle that unfortunately can make us feel like we’re continuously running on an empty tank. With all of us hustling hard to stay on top of things, even thinking about self-care sometimes can be almost humorous with how drained we’re feeling. So how can we try to combat such a thing you might ask? Coming from one exhausted human being to another, I’m here to share some of my personal self care tips and insight on to a subject that none of us are a stranger to.
Self Care Tips That Matter
One of the most important things, that I cannot stress enough, is to make rest a priority. I know, “easier said than done.” If you’re like me, you might put other people and their needs before your own, which in itself is a commendable trait but also not the healthiest for anyone, especially you. As someone with a caretaker mentality, I know how easy it can be to get wrapped up into taking care of others, to the point where you can lose yourself and in turn become toxic. In a previous blog entitled, “Realizing You’re In A Toxic Relationship”, I opened up more about this specific topic. But I will say that this statement couldn’t be truer; ‘you need to take care of yourself first in order to take care of others.’ When you’re rundown, how do you expect to properly take care of someone else when you can’t properly care for yourself? It’s like a battery that only has half of its power; sure you’ll be able to get some use out of it, but it won’t last as long or have the same efficiency as if it had its full power. Thinking of ourselves as these batteries, it’s important to remember we have the capacity to achieve more when we’re fully charged. True enough, life can hit us with some curve balls and roadblocks that throw us out of sync depleting our charge, but it’s our responsibly to ourselves to get back in sync. Mental, physical and emotional rest are essential for a healthy running system; when one’s out of commission, the others have to pick up the slack and therefore they can’t run as smoothly. Everything works in conjunction together, so when one thing is out of order, the others tend to follow.
If you’re like me, you might put other people and their needs before your own, which in itself is a commendable trait but also not the healthiest for anyone, especially you.
Doing something as simple as setting a specific time to go to sleep at night and sticking to it can help immensely. We all need rest, and what helps others rest might not work for you, so it’s important to figure what things you like to do to unwind. Whether it’s reading a book, taking a hot bath with essential oils or listening to an audio, find out what truly helps you detox from the chaos around so you can give yourself the rest you deserve.
Disconnect from Social Media
Another form of self-care that I found really helps is disconnecting from social media and taking a break from your phone. Now, now, no need to panic! I know in this digital age it seems unfathomable to put our phones down, let alone get off certain apps but it can do you a world of good from time to time. When I say “disconnecting,” I simply mean just closing down apps, turning off their notifications and clicking that phone screen off. There’s far less temptation when there are no notifications coming in! The great thing about this is that its only temporary, you set the time restraints so it can be as long or as short as you’d like.
Starting off slow and building your way up can help instead of jumping right into it. It probably won’t be very liked in the beginning as it’s a bit jarring, almost like you’re lost without hearing those familiar beeps and pings erupting from your phone. But when it’s difficult to stay away from your phone, that’s when you know it’s become a bad habit of sorts and it’s a good idea to take a step back. It’s all too easy to be sucked into the virtual universe with seemingly endless scrolling and liking, everything is just at your fingertips. But it starts to become an issue when you’re more glued to your phone then you are to your real life.
Putting our phones down and stepping outside to breathe in some fresh air can be so renewing. Just being outside for few minutes and taking in your surroundings can be the reset from cyber world that you need. Appreciate the beauty of nature by experiencing it firsthand instead of liking someone’s post about it online. Don’t feel like going outside? Open a window and get some of the same effects as if you were out there yourself. Disconnecting isn’t something that you should feel sorry for doing either, it’s necessary to find the right balance and give yourself time to be present in life without your eyes stuck on a screen. Letting the people in your life know that you’re taking a break opens up the lines of communications and can set everyone’s mind at ease; your people know you’re okay and you don’t have to worry about them thinking you’ve disappeared or ghosted them. Give your eyes and your mind a break from technology every once in a while and see the difference it can make for you, your energy and your mood!
Get Real with Your Feelings
One last point I’d like to talk about is feelings. When your energy and mood is low, sometimes we downplay what we’re feeling and going through for the benefit of others. I get it, we don’t want to bring others down with us and that’s quite considerate. But at the same time it doesn’t help anything, we may have covered up how we felt to them but that doesn’t take away from the fact that we’re still feeling those things. It’s important to be honest with others but it’s equally as important to be honest with ourselves. ‘It’s okay not to be okay’ is one of my very favorite sayings because it’s the truth.
You can’t make a flower flourish without water, just like you can’t quench your thirst from an empty glass. Self-care and being honest about your feelings is not selfish, it’s necessary.
There are going to be days when you feel like you can’t get out of bed because your energy is so depleted, and that’s okay. And there will be days that you’ll feel like staying in instead of going out and socializing and that okay as well. We all have good days and bad days. So don’t push yourself farther than you can handle on those bad days just to make it easier on the people around you. You can’t make a flower flourish without water, just like you can’t quench your thirst from an empty glass. Self-care and being honest about your feelings is not selfish, it’s necessary. Value yourself enough to take care of you and be honest to yourself and others about what you’re feeling. The more we’re able to openly communicate with each other, the more understanding and compassion we send out into the world.
21 Self Care Tips For When Your Energy is Low
Here’s a quick list of tips to try for yourself when your energy is low. Try some or try them all and see
what works best for you!
- Hydrate
- Meditate
- Spend time outside (at least 15 minutes to start, weather permitting)
- Take a nap
- Read a book
- Talk to a friend or family member
- Pamper Yourself
- Write in your journal
- Light some candles, incense, or sage
- Cleanse your space
- Put on a facial mask
- Take a warm/hot bath or shower
- Eat your favorite healthy snacks
- Cuddle with your fur baby(ies)
- Take a break from your phone
- Listen to therapeutic healing music or tones
- Stretch or do some light yoga
- Watch your favorite movie or series
- Listen to an inspiring Ted Talk
- Listen to a podcast, audio book, or sleep story
- Recite Affirmations full of positivity and self-love
Self Care is for EVERYONE
The takeaway from this is to make you a priority, no matter what your energy level is at, take the much needed steps to make sure you’re taking care of you. Self-care is needed at all times but when our energy is low, that is the time that self-care is needed the most. We’re all a little too hard on ourselves sometimes so give yourself (your mind, body and soul) rest you so rightly deserve. Because at the end of the day, our health is all that we really have, so we owe it to ourselves to take the extra care when it’s needed. Many things can be the culprit in our low energies; from life itself, not enough rest/sleep, illness, work, poor hydration/diet, seasonal changes, relationships, other stressors, you name it! As long as we consciously recognize these things and are actively working on improving them, (and seeking the proper professional help if need be) that’s all that really matters. We’re all doing the best that we can, so remember to be gentle with yourself. Treat yourself as you would treat a close friend going through the same thing, be that friend to yourself. So if you weren’t able to accomplish a lot today or get the things done that you wanted to, let me be that friend to you and say that I’m still proud of you and you should be proud of you too. Always remember, you got this!
About the Author
Rebecca Pallack is an inspiring writer born and raised in the Chicagoland area. When she’s not filing a page with her inner most thoughts, she has four legged creatures to keep her days busy. Writing has always been one of her passions, with words flowing as freely to her fingertips as air flows deeply into lungs. Through her writings hopes to make the world a better, more understanding place, one passage at a time.
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