Self-Care Ideas That Won't Cost You Anything
Growing up I was a hypochondriac. To be honest, I think that was one of the first multisyllabic words I learned. Think Vada Sultenfuss from “My Girl,” but black with plaits and a diagonal part. Seriously. “Brain Tumor or Headache?” should’ve been the name of my childhood memoir, and this was decades before WebMD was a thing. Luckily, my mom was a nurse and could usually talk me out of self-diagnosed death sentences.
Over the years, my ability to worry about just about anything turned into general anxiety and stress. At one point in high school, it even turned into a stress-related stomach ulcer diagnosed by my actual doctor.
These days, I find myself stressing or being anxious about a lot of things. Most of them a little more existent than the childhood brain tumor I never had. For example, I can actually remember my parents being the age I am now, and they were already married, had children, and were homeowners. My brother seemed to have followed the same timeline, give or take a few years, and here I am -- the real-life version of Issa from Insecure.
Not saying that I’m ready to get married, because 1. I like my decorative pillows laid out a certain way and 2. It looks like a lot of work and I’m already doing that with my actual employer and not getting paid enough, so liiiiike why would I do more work for free?
I digress.
But seriously, my grandparents are getting older, I recently found out that I only have about 6 years to decide if I want to try this whole giving birth thing before it’s considered a geriatric pregnancy, and I still don’t really know what I want to be when I grow up. On top of that, we have a president who is actively trying to kill us!
So, in true millennial fashion, I started researching ways to cope.
At any given moment you can scroll Instagram and see dozens of posts promoting #selfcare as this thing that looks pretty enough to post on social media, and also costs money. I love a fancy spa day just as much as the next person, but $150 every other week? IN THIS ECONOMY?? And although my favorite and most effective form or self-care is a relationship with a therapist, she would put me in a facility if I tried to see her every day. Plus, I understand that everyone doesn’t have the privilege of having a therapist, or just may be uncomfortable taking that step. So I had to be resourceful.
Below is a list of self-care ideas that have worked for me. They may not make pretty pics for your Instagram feed, but they still get the job done, and won’t put a dent in your bank account:
Put your phone on Do Not Disturb or Airplane Mode
Go a day without social media
Block someone
Read a book
Take a walk
Watch something that makes you laugh
Take a long bath
Enjoy a glass of wine (read about my wine picks here)
Listen to a podcast
Say no to anything you don’t want to do
Cook something you enjoy
Call someone who makes you laugh
Build a blanket fort
Diffuse essential oil (keep lavender on hand)
Take a nap
Sit outside
Write in a journal
Make a music playlist
Workout for 15 minutes
Try to follow a YouTube hair tutorial
