Uversity Life - Taking Care of our Bodies, Minds, and Souls: Practice ...

Social network sites can be useful, but they can also be harmful. I see a lot of posts in my Dashboard on Tumblr and my Facebook Newsfeed (both by people I know and those I don?t) that express some sort of pain that a person is feeling. These sites can be a really useful outlet to express pain without fear of retaliation. So often, when we express negative emotions to people in person, we are told to ?just get better,? ?suck it up,? or told that it?s ?not a big deal,? that ?it?ll be okay.? When we are in the midst of feeling negative emotions, being told those things can be hurtful because negative emotions can make us feel powerless to change our situation.

The internet can be helpful when we?re feeling down. It gives us a place to share how we?re feeling and find solidarity and support from people who have felt the same way. In this way, Tumblr can be a very helpful thing.

In the same way, the internet can also make us feel worse. It?s important to be able to talk about how we?re feeling and have someone/some people there who will receive that message and reply with one of solidarity and support. However, if the outlets for our emotional pain don?t also allow healing as well as providing support, we can get caught up in negative behavior patterns that promote more negative feelings.

So, this is for you, my friends. I?ve compiled a list of online self-care resources! Self-care is the practice of maintaining your own physical, mental, and spiritual health. It can also mean learning about how your unique, individual, beautiful body works and adapting your life in a way that allows you to nurture and love your body. To me, it means taking time for myself to reflect on my thoughts, actions and relationships, allow myself to be wrong, listen to what my body/mind/soul needs in the moment, doodle or dance or sing, journal, meditate, do yoga, scream into a pillow, etc. It can be whatever you need, whatever you want, whatever you have. I try to practice self-care each day, and I hope you find some kind of self-care that allows you to listen to yourself and give yourself whatever it is that you want/need.

*Here?s what has worked for me:

1. Exercise! Yeah, it sucks for the first fifteen minutes, but damn! Once those endorphins get flowing, you feel so great! Sometimes, it?s important to keep in mind why you?re exercising when you?re doing exercise as a method of self-care. When I would exercise in order to look a certain way or lose a certain amount of weight, exercise made me feel like shit because I felt like those goals were unattainable. When I began to exercise because I wanted to feel strong and feel those endorphins, I felt much more healthy.
2. Get creative! It doesn?t matter what you do or whether/not you?re good at it. Break out the pen, the crayons, the guitar, anything. Studies show that when we get creative, our brain enters a process called ?flow.? Flow is a happy place. Our brains are very content when we are focused on the creation of something. It?s the process that makes flow so happy. Our brains like to be immersed in flow, and arts/crafts can be super fun! It can be as complex as painting on an easel or as simple as knitting.
3. Tap into spirituality. This might sound lame, but give me a chance here. I promise I?m not going to shove something down your throat. For me, tapping into my inner spirituality was really, really healing. It doesn?t really matter how you reach that spiritual place within yourself, but I highly suggest that you try. Atheists are spiritual. Pagans are spiritual. We?re all spiritual, and there are so many different means of accessing that healing power! Give it a try.

wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_care

100 Self Care Ideas:http://healingspaces.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/100-extreme-self-care-ideas/

Self Care Ideas:

http://persephonemagazine.com/2011/12/19/15-easy-self-care-ideas/

http://www.lawc.on.ca/ResourceSelfCare.htm

http://caregiverwellness.blogspot.com/2011/02/86-self-care-ideas.html

http://www.balancedweightmanagement.com/Ideas%20for%20Self-Nurturing.htm

How To Meditate: Just Sit.http://life.gaiam.com/video/how-meditate-just-sit

Free Online Yoga Videos:http://www.doyogawithme.com/yoga_classes

Self care and self defense manual for feminist activists: files.creaworld.org/files/self-care-brochure.pdf

The Existentialist Buddhist:http://www.existentialbuddhist.com/

Resources on Sleep:http://www.drnaiman.com/information/newsletter

Mind-Body Connection Video:http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/video/rippe-mind-body-connection

Stress-management information:http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-assessment/SR00031

Self-Diagnosis tools:http://www.psychologytoday.com/tests

Mental Health Matters:http://www.mental-health-matters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=1&Itemid=37

Traumatic stress education, advocacy, resources, and training: http://www.sidran.org/

Resources on Trauma:http://www.trauma-pages.com/trauma.php

Spirituality Resources:http://meditationresources.net/index.php?c=10

Multifaith website on spirituality and practice:http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/

The Vegetarian Resource Group:http://www.vrg.org/

Amazing recipes! myrecipes.com, tablespoon.com

Types of therapy/healing:http://healingresources.com/types-of-care/

Chakras:http://www.chakraenergy.com/

Self care and self defense manual for feminist activists: files.creaworld.org/files/self-care-brochure.pdf

These are just a few resources, but there?s tons out there! If you?re interested, conduct your own search!

Light and love, Mo <3

Source: http://uversitylife.com/taking-care-of-our-bodies-minds-and-souls-practice-self-care/

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