Guest article by Annabelle B

What does it mean to ‘practice self care’? Well, there’s no single answer as everyone actually has their own version of self care! The whole point of self-care is discovering what works best and feels right for you. 

Despite its radical roots in the Black Power Movement of the 60s and 70s, there is the common misconception today that self-care is all about attending expensive yoga retreats and eating oysters in bubble baths… but this is definitely not the case! Genuine self-care is very simple and doesn’t require heaps of money. It’s about finding those little, everyday activities and ways of living your life that replenish your mental health. Check out our article ‘What is self-care?’ to learn more about the concept and its origins. 

My tips on practicing self-care

As a stressed, broke, and busy university student, I’m sharing my tips here for a grounded approach to attaining wellbeing. Firstly, I want to acknowledge that balancing life is hard. I struggled with going into my second year of university and having to juggle lengthy university placements while working part-time. When my grandma and uncle who live overseas had heart attacks and became critically ill, my mental health declined rapidly, impacting my relationship with my family, friends, and partner, but most importantly with myself. 

In my journey to establish sustainable self-care practices that align with my lifestyle and values, I’ve created a list of things that helped and continue to help me support my physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. Self-care looks different for everyone, so this is no definitive guide but rather some suggestions that can hopefully guide your own ways of practising self-care: 

• Creating routine: 

Creating a routine can give a positive structure to our day. This allows us to avoid overthinking and becoming overwhelmed by daily tasks. I enjoy making a list in my diary of simple tasks I want to complete for that day so it becomes a visual indicator rather than getting trapped in my head. For example: working out, eating breakfast, showering, painting, walking the dog, eating lunch, uni study, making dinner. 

• Eating full meals: 

Ensure you consume nutritious meals and snacks that bring you joy and keep your tummy full. We need food to provide our cells the energy to function, so we can tackle our daily tasks to our best possible level. Without fuel our mind and body become depleted, leading to further negative thoughts and the inability to complete tasks. 

When I know I am going to have a busy week ahead I aim to meal prep my breakfasts (like overnight oats) and lunches (pasta, rice paper rolls, and mexican bowls being some personal favourites). This reduces the stress of my day and allows me to eat nourishing meals that keep my mind energised. 

• Journaling: 

Journaling offers an outlet to release our worries, stressors and negative thoughts.  Physically writing these worries down has a positive impact on our mental health, as it allows us to acknowledge and begin to let go of the weight of these stressors. You don’t have to pressure yourself to journal daily — allow yourself to journal when you want and need. I personally have three types of journals: a designated journal for my brain dumps, a manifestation journal, and a journal where I write 3 things I am grateful for that day. This combination helps my busy brain get out my worries, as well as  reflect on the positive aspects of my day. 

• Talking: 

My best friend and I often call one another when we’re in tears and need a chat. We have a mutual understanding that we can talk to one another about our mental health. Talking to someone is vital to improving our mental health. You don’t always need to explain everything you are dealing with to another person, but letting someone know that you’re struggling is important so they are aware that you need some support. This reassures us that we’re not alone, provides us with a safe space to go to in times of need, and gives us the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. 

• Limit media and social media exposure: 

I have begun to reduce the amount of content I absorb by limiting the time I spend on social media and news media sites. The negative and harmful content that can circulate on these platforms have had a debilitating effect on my mental health. There is an overwhelming pressure perpetuated by social media to reach a filtered Western beauty standard of “perfection”. This extends to the way we live, where there is the pressure to always be productive and live a seemingly ‘perfect’ life of travel, wealth and happiness, with no hardships or faults. 

As we are all aware, this is entirely unrealistic and unattainable — life doesn’t work that way. Consuming these ideals via social media has significantly impacted the way I perceive and value myself. Limiting this exposure has helped me live in my own life rather than constantly comparing myself to the curated facade presented by others on the internet. 

• Therapy: 

Conventional therapy in Australia is unrealistically expensive, even with a Mental Health Plan. Thankfully, there are other opportunities where young people can access safe and confidential therapy such as Kids Helpline, Youth Beyond Blue, and Headspace, which offers free counselling for all secondary school students in Victoria without a referral. If you’re in high school, reaching out to your student wellbeing officer or welfare officer is a great place to start, as they can direct you to further support services that best suit your needs. As for university students, there is often free counselling available through your institution. Universities offering these services include Deakin, Monash, Melbourne, RMIT and LaTrobe. 

I began using my own university’s counselling service and it was the best decision I made, as it provided me with a safe space to talk things through without the financial worry. Speaking to a professional that can provide evidence-based advice and an unbiased perspective is incredibly liberating, and a long-term approach to strengthening our minds. 

Creating a self care plan

Apart from these more general acts of self-care, it’s useful to reflect on what specific hobbies, places, foods, entertainment, and practices in our individual lives have the ability to lift our mood. Sitting down and brain-dumping into a journal about what leaves you feeling positive is an easy way of discovering your own unique self-care acts.  

This way you can find things that work for you! Everyone’s self care plan is going to look different, it is all about finding the things that bring you joy and help you find balance in your life. 

My simple self-care acts:

1. Organising my room. Putting on a good show (I am loving Derry Girls at the moment) and cleaning my room makes me feel so good afterwards.
2. Eating chocolate freckles and/or milk chocolate liquorice bullets. 
3. Going to bed an hour earlier than usual.
4. Moving my body: quick 10-minute free yoga sessions on YouTube. 
5. Saying ‘no’ when I need to. This may look like saying ‘no’ to picking up another shift at work that week.
6. Listening to the Same But Different podcast. 
7. Painting multi-medium artworks. This provides my brain with some time to be creative and to put how I am feeling into my artwork (my art Insta is  @meow_the_cat_artist if you would like to take a look!).
8. Making a large dinner for my family, and enough to have leftovers. My favourite being homemade Pad Thai with lots of bean sprouts and homemade spring rolls.
9. Late night drives to talk with a friend.
10. Being in nature. I like feeling connected back to something larger, at the beach and in the bush is where I feel like I can do this best.
11. Washing my hair. I always feel so much better when I have freshly clean hair. 
12. Cuddling my cat. An act which releases happy hormones concluded in evidence-based findings. 

Learn more about creating your own self care plan in this video.

The most significantly helpful aspect of self-care that has worked for me is listening. Listening to what my body and mind are telling me. This ensures that what I am doing is what I actually want to do and ensures that I am more in tune with my own self. Self-love, growth and improvement can only come from first listening to your body. 

I hope these tips can guide you on your self-care journey, and discovering what activities and routines work best in looking after your mental health.