How To Make Time for Self-Care When Down and Depressed

This article is all about making time for self-care when you feeling down and depressed

We all know that self-care should be prioritized to say the least. That journaling, meal planning, reading books, taking a hot bath and doing other things to be more productive is essential in leading a healthy life.

But, when feeling down and depressed, self-care rituals are the last thing on your mind. Feeling sad out of nowhere is very common and it can be a symptom of an underlying cause such as depression, anxiety or other mental health issues. But, the one thing that will help is having a proper self-care routine that can be done over the weekend, to have a good week ahead.

Despite what the internet might lead you to believe, having a perfect life and no stress is an unrealistic approach to life. People of any age do not live a manicured life that is always picture-perfect or have no problems except the fact that they have no clothes to wear. Rather life is more stressful, where panic and stress are everyday factors.

Sometimes you are going through seasons in life, and that is totally fine. Feeling down, sad or depressed is normal and can happen even through the happiest moments. But then you have to get back up and self-care routines are designed to refresh the mind and soul, creating a positive vibe. So, how do you feel back to normal and make time for self-care when feeling down or depressed?

1.    Embrace All the Feelings

Embracing all the feelings of sadness can actually be the turning point. Instead of ignoring your emotions and tying to push through and fake that smile (there is absolutely no point in faking to be happy), instead allow yourself the time and energy you need. Sometimes, the resistance to the chaos is not doing yourself or those around you any good. It is certainly not your fault when you don’t feel like doing anything at all, so why ignore that feeling and pretend like everything is ok?

Allow yourself to embrace all of the emotions, because, that is the only way to get through it. Proper self-care starts from within. Internal wellbeing is better than externally looking great when all you want to do is cry. Permission to accept and move forward is different than brushing everything under the rug. Accept instead of denying your emotions, because that is when proper self-care starts.

2.    Give Yourself Time

Give yourself time and allow yourself to move at a pace that will do you good. Never force change because at the end, that change will not last. Instead, move slowly and steadily. You want the perfect self-care routine, the ultimate glow up and the best body of all time. That will not happen in one day. Give yourself time and take gradual steps. Want the best body? Start eating healthy and eat more vegetables day by day. Want the perfect self-care routine? Take a pamper day once a week and focus on internal self-care rather than the physical aspects.

3.    Be Patient with Yourself

Patience is a virtue, as they say. So, instead of being frustrated with yourself, be kind and caring. If you are patient with others, then learn to be patient with yourself as well. Nothing happens in one day; patience is needed to become your true self. Without being patient, you will not enjoy the journey of self-care and happiness.

A balanced life needs patience because only then will you be able to continue with your goals. Without being overly flustered that nothing is working out, or beating yourself up because you messed up with your self-care rituals is not going to do you any good. So, be patient with yourself and take care of your mindset.

4.    Prioritize What’s Needed

Prioritize what is needed when it comes to having the best life and keeping your self-care routine on track. Instead of dealing with the not-so-needed things surrounding you, keep focus on the things that need your attention the most. Hence, creating the optimum self-care routine that is sustainable and does you good all around.

For example, stressing over the next meal is not a priority for me or making sure that every goal in life has to be hit by a certain time is causing me the extra layer of stress. For me the priority is I need to focus on building something that I can call mine, slowly and steadily, that with time it can grow.

Figuring out what is the main priority in your life is needed, so you can put all of your focus and energy onto something that will cause you less stress in the future. Instead of trying to solve everything all at once, put the things that aren’t that much of a need to do right now subject and move them over to next week and deal with it then.

5.    Pick Your Most Favourite Form of Self-Care

Picking your most favourite form of self-care is the best option when feeling down or depressed. Not only will it seem more fun, it won’t feel like another chore that needs to be ticked off the to-do list. You will actually enjoy finding yourself the best self-care routine and giving into all the hype of a pamper session.

For me, my most favourite self-care routine is giving myself the time at the end of the night to de-stress and watch a bit of my favourite tv series. Be it Turkish, Korean or some comedy to relax from a stressful day. For others, it is Yoga or for my workout trainer, it is of course working out and going to the gym.

6.    Enjoy The Time You Spend with Yourself

Enjoying the time, you spend with yourself is no doubt the best thing you can do for your mental peace. When feeling down and depressed, enjoy every moment you have. Live life to the fullest instead of feeling like you’re checking all the boxes. The rushing into everything mentally might be hardwired into our brains because we don’t feel like we have the time to be ourselves and take the time we need. But that is not the case.

As soon as you engage with the self-care rituals you have planned out, enjoy them. It is as simple as that. Even if it means for now, the only self-care routine you have is taking a hot shower. Enjoy it and take the time out to pamper yourself. You are granting yourself this time to be present with yourself and your surroundings. Promoting a healthy and positive mindset.

7.    Don’t Beat Yourself Up

The last thing you should be doing is beating yourself up if you miss a self-care day or skip out on some self-loving rituals. Look, sometimes life gets in the way and even if you had every intention to pamper yourself to the nines, it might not just work out that way.

Just remember that missing a few days of self-care is normal and totally not your fault. At the end, we are all humans and skipping on something is a normal part of well….life. So take out the self-judgement and still be proud that you have come this far. Because not judging yourself is also a form of self-care too!!

8.    Positive Vibes and Mind Only

Positivity is always needed to grow into the amazing person you will become. Oh, and it is also a form of the best self-care one can give to themselves. Sprinkle a little bit of gratitude here and there and never fall flat on the self-empowering bandwagon. Never judge yourself or be mean to yourself because you couldn’t do something. At the end, you are trying to be the best version of yourself to the best of your abilities and that is what matters the most!

Allow yourself to feel grateful and keep a positive mindset that can brighten up your day and your loved one’s day too. Keep smiling and being happy, because self-care starts from within.

9.    Believe Yourself First and Foremost

Believing in yourself is an art that needs to be mastered. Because self-doubt is common and normal to be honest, but that does not mean it should become a habit. Believing in yourself and trusting your own abilities is the main thing that will keep you going and thriving for the long run.

Making the time for self-care when you feel down or depressed will always be tough, but believing you will be ok and trusting the process of your emotions is one of the strongest forms of self-care and self-love you can give.

Dear Misfits:

Yes, I know, we have all been there. Feeling down and depressed, even when everything is going right. It’s a perfect day and your life is going smoothly, but still deep down your not satisfied and judge every little detail. This is totally normal, but you need to make time for self-care even when you don’t feel like doing it the most.

I, myself have a lot of those days where I don’t want to do anything. Not even get out of bed. Which is so unhealthy and totally spoils the mood for the upcoming weeks. But the thing I do is push myself and trust my emotions, that even though I am feeling awful, I still know I will get myself through it all. Just start with something small. Take a nice shower, if you take 10 minutes normally while taking a shower, take an extra 20 minutes.

At the end of the day, we are all human and majority of the time, we are just trying to fit in. Which shouldn’t be the case. Because by doing that, you end up losing yourself and that is exactly what happened to me. I am trying to be more present and enjoy the smaller moments in my life. So, to all of my lovely misfits out there, be true to who you are and make time for self-care even when you are feeling down and depressed. Trust me, it’ll help you loads and loads and loads!!! 😊

xoxo

Confused Misfit

This article is all about making time for self-care when you feeling down and depressed