Put yourself first for a moment!
Self-care does not have to be time-consuming – just three conscious breaths can lower your heart rate and refocus you. ⏲ 😌 🌬
Here is a brief writing activity designed to help check-in with yourself by raising your awareness of what your mind and body are aware of.
Take a Moment Before Writing
Grab a pen or pencil and paper; set them aside.
- Sit in a comfortable position and focus your gaze in the distance or close your eyes. Take a moment or two to get used to the position, shoulders relaxed.
- Breathe in through your nose like you’re smelling a flower for a count of 4.
- Exhale through your mouth like you’re blowing out a birthday candle for a count of 6 – repeat 3 more times.
- Open your eyes slowly.
Self-Care Writing Activity
Tune into the environment around you.
- With your pen or pencil and paper, make a list of 5 things that you are aware of that you can see.
- Then write 5 things you are aware of that you can hear.
- Then write 5 things you can smell, taste, feel.
- Write again about what you can see, hear, smell, taste, and feel, except this time write 4 things you are aware of for each sense
- Then write again with 3 things, then 2 things, and finally just one thing you are aware of with each sense.
Take a moment when finished to breathe deeply before you go about your day.
Mission accomplished!
We know it is difficult to take time away from work, put yourself first, and/or add new routines into your life. At Counseling In Schools, we encourage people to have buffers in place between yourself and your stressors. Imagine a doorstop between a doorknob and the wall, or a moat around a castle. Taking even 30 seconds to collect your thoughts before reacting is a buffer that reduces the effects of a stressor. Calling a friend or colleague is also a buffer that can listen or encourage you to breathe.
And remember...