The last in the four part series on combating anxiety (click here, here, & here for parts 1, 2, & 3) focuses on one of my favorites: Self-care. If you think about a time in your life where you were feeling highly anxious and stressed, I’d be willing to bet that self-care had been thrown out of the window (while driving 80 on the freeway… so I mean LONG gone). All too often, we get busy taking care of others, the house, the job, and miscellaneous other activities that we forget to take care of numero uno (Yes, I’m talking about you!). Forgetting to take care of yourself most often results in burn out (this can take the form of wanting to pull your hair out, on a regular basis). Self-care doesn’t have to take hours. In fact, it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a whole day, or heck, weekend if you want! When you take time to take care of yourself, you are telling yourself that you are worth it and have value. Let me ask you, the last time you took 30 minutes to read your favorite book/magazine, or paint your nails, how did you feel after? I know that I often feel refreshed and ready for whatever life wants to throw at me! Below I’ve listed some simple self-care activities to engage in, depending on how much time you have!

If you have 15-30 minutes: 

1. Paint your nails! Choose from all those pretty Spring colors out there!

2. Heck, tackle those toes too!

3. Read a a chapter in your favorite book, or flip through your favorite magazine

{Some of my absolute favorites! Of course I love the fashion mags too!}

4. Go for a quick walk/jog

5. Practice your favorite yoga sequence (I love sun salutations b…. I can do 10 in the 15-30 minute time frame.)

{Image compliments of http://shiningsoulyoga.com/2012/02/09/480/5.}

6. Take a cat nap (15 minutes)

If you have a couple of hours:

1. Go chill out at the spa

2. Check out that movie you’ve been dying to see

3. Grab coffee (or lunch) with a friend

If you have a whole day/weekend:

1. I am a huge proponent of getting away from it all! Plan a quick get away to a local destination, or simply try something new in the town you currently live in.

I hope what you take away is that it is so essential to take care of yourself. There is only one you, treat yourself like the special person you are!

Thanks for reading!

<3 Shannon