Tips to Incorporate Self-Care in the Warmer Months

Andromeda Peters, LICSW

The warmer months come with longer days, often accompanied by changes in our emotions after emerging from the winter blues, as well as a change in our energy levels. Rather than taking a step back to relax and slow down, we may feel compelled to pack more onto our schedules. We may plan more travel, spend more time with friends and loved ones, and have busier weekends, causing us to exert more energy. With that being said, how can we enjoy the warmer months while still taking care of ourselves? Below you will find tips to help us find and maintain that balance.

Be Intentional With Self-Care

Angela Bisignano, Ph.D. defines self-care as taking the time out to prioritize our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Dr. Bisignano encourages the application of structure into our routines, even though we may be tempted to be less regimented. She states that planning self-care into our schedules provides more of a guarantee that our minds will hold space for meeting our needs such as time for leisure such as relaxation or enjoying a hobby. Dr. Bisignano suggests adequate sleep, balanced eating, and regular exercise/movement. 

Even more specifically, Dr. Bisignano recommends a daily routine, weekly routine, and monthly routine, providing specific points of what this can look like:

• Morning routine: mindfulness and self-reflective practices such as journaling, affirmations, and meditation. She points out this may be the slowest time of the day for some people, so make sure that we intentionally make time to slow down. 
• Weekly routine: Dr. Bisignano recommends letting go of some responsibilities once per week. This may be one day of no house chores or cooking, one day of not doing work tasks stating that the brain and body need breaks to revitalize. 

Be Intentional About Self-Scanning/Self-Reflection

In addition to engaging in external self-care activities, I want to pivot us in the direction of internal self-care, often referred to as inner-work in therapeutic spaces. Because the warmer months may allot us more hours in the day, being intentional about acts of self-scanning and self-reflection incorporates a healthy reset. The benefits of self-reflection such as challenging old belief systems and creating new neural pathways giving us healthier self-talk and decreased intrusive thoughts.

Vernita Perkins, Ph.D., and Leonard Jason, Ph.D., state that one can develop comfort in the discomfort of examining and exploring our thoughts, words, and actions. This means that we go from living on autopilot with our thoughts and emotions to becoming more mindful of our internal worlds. Here are some steps to assist us with the inner parts of our self-care routine:

• Self-scan in the morning, afternoon, and evening by asking ourselves how we feel physically and emotionally and what we need as a result of our findings.
• Make note of our emotional triggers at the moment that we experience them. If we are in a space where we cannot address a trigger, “bubble it” and return to it later.
• Track our autopilot thoughts at the end of the day. It is helpful to write them down. We can review them as often as every week to every few weeks. We may notice recurring thoughts.
• Create healthy narratives in response to our autopilot thoughts to practice each day.
• Check-in with ourselves every few weeks and ask if we need to revamp any areas of our routine. We may find that we may need more one-on-one time or more time with our loved ones. We may note that we are overexerting or isolating. 

There is always autonomy in how we show up for ourselves, but awareness is key in deciding which changes are necessary. Using our longer days can help us be more self-explorative and we can even find ourselves feeling recharged by the end of summer through our intentional actions, both outer and inner. Give some of these things a try, and if you’d like support in your mental health journey, connect with a counselor at Symmetry Counseling today!

References:

A Season for Wellness: 7 Tips for Summer Self-Care. Retrieved from https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/season-for-wellness-7-tips-summer-self-care-820197 

on August 20, 2019.

What Did You Do With Your Summer? Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-mental-health-revolution/202108/what-did-you-do-your-summer on August 2, 2021.