As you guys know, I am a nursing student. And in nursing school they preach for “self care activities”.

It is really a wonder why, considering they assign so many papers, exams and assignments that in order to complete them, we need to spend all waking ours working on them.

But that’s besides the point.

The point is- that even as nursing students who have no time and are stressed beyond what is healthy, self care is still important.

Just like self care is important for mothers, fathers, entrepreneurs and everyone in between.

If you aren’t taking care of yourself then what do you expect to accomplish?

Yeah, you may be able to accomplish all of the tasks that you have given yourself but did you accomplish them to the best of your ability? Did you give 100% to your activity?

What’s the point of doing anything if you aren’t going to do it to the best of your ability?

This is where self care comes in.

I want to tell you guys a story.

I am a perfectionist. I always have been. So it’s no surprise that I am a straight A student even in nursing school. However, I have learned that school is not always the end-all-be-all.

When I was a freshman in college I spent every waking hour studying. I had to take the HESI exam and had an Anatomy teacher that made it his life mission to fail out students.

Literally. He played “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson before each exam and went around and told students to do better than the person next to them.

Plus, I was competing with a hundred plus other students to try and get into the nursing program.

In other words, I was stressed beyond belief.

I promise you- I had about two melt downs per week. I hated that I couldn’t spend time with friends or family because I felt guilty.

Little did I know at the time that all I needed to do was take time for myself. By taking time for myself the time I did spend studying was more effective, I was happier and more relaxed.

This was huge! If I just took time for myself, I would be so much happier and in a place that helped me not only personally but also educationally and professionally.

Now, going to be a senior in nursing school (whoop, class of 2019!), this is something that I keep with me everyday.

I take time off on the weekends from work because I work my ass off and deserve a break every once in a while. At first, I felt guilty for doing it, but now? Now that I see I can take time off and my blog won’t implode, my friends and family will still be there and my school work won’t go anywhere, it is so much easier to take that time and not feel guilty.

Moral of the story? Your work will still be there if you take time for yourself. Your friends will still be there if you take time for yourself. Your kids will still think you are an awesome parent if you simply take time for yourself.

Let me say this one more time for those in the back- you need to take time for yourself!

There is absolutely no excuse and I guarantee if you try it once, you will see the difference in yourself.

Now, onto the good part! Here are some self care tips!

Tip #1: Spend an hour a day (or less) doing something you enjoy

For me, I spend about 2 hours, 5 days a week with my horse. When I am at the barn I can hang out with my horse and not worry about anything else that is going on.

For other people, it may be doing yoga, reading a book, going for a walk or going to the gym.

If it makes you happy- then do it!

Tip #2: Be Grateful

You will be surprised (or maybe not) how gratitude can change your attitude. If you spend five minutes everyday thinking of all of the things in your life that are wonderful, you tend to look for the positive in everything.

Being grateful, even for the little things, will go a long way. Studies have shown that people who are grateful tend to sleep better, be more positive, feel more alive and in some cases even have a stronger immune system among many other things.

All I am going to say is that the mind is a powerful tool.

Tip #3: Spend time working out

I know, I know..working out? really? I’m sorry to inform you but exercise has been shown to increase release of serotonin in your brain. And serotonin is ultimately, the happy hormones in your brain. By working out more often you will feel better. Not only will working out help you feel better emotionally but it will also improve your physical health as well.

Might as well kill two birds with one stone, right?

If you need help getting motivated to go to the gym then head over to my blog post about tips to motivate you to go to the gym. 

Now, just to be clear, working out doesn’t mean running on a treadmill. It can mean going for a walk, lifting weights or doing yoga.

I go to the gym but I also take time everyday to take my beasts… whoops, I mean dogs… on walks! You will get the same benefits from walking as you will from running (at least mentally)! Plus, animals (especially dogs) have been found to be HUGE stress relievers.

So I also recommend getting a dog.. :p

Tip #4: Eat Well

I am going to be the first to admit that this can be hard for me. I LOVE anything that is not “good” for me. Chocolate cake, bread pudding, cookies, you name it and I love it. However, eating the sweets wasn’t helping me emotionally. In some cases it was almost as if I was stress eating which made my stress ten times worse.

When I stopped eating all of the food that wasn’t good for me (but oh so delicious) I started to feel better. Now don’t get me wrong. The first week I had killer cravings and I wanted to hurt someone. But, as the days went by without the sugar fix, I slowly got better and now I feel incredible!

This doesn’t mean going on a diet and starving yourself, but it does mean changing a snack of chips to a snack of fruits or nuts. If you are having a lot of difficulties I would recommend meal planning. This way you have everything all prepared for the week and you aren’t buying any of the “bad” groceries when you go to the store. You are simply buying what you need for your meals for the week.

Tip #5: Say positive affirmations

Have you guys ever heard of mind games? That’s how I like to think about affirmations. Essentially, over time, you are tricking your brain into believing what it is you are saying.

Basically, you are tricking your brain to believe what you are saying and you too, start to believe it. When you start to believe what you are saying you will start to attract it.

Some good affirmations to try are:

• I am happy and grateful now that I am happy and healthy.
• I am beautiful.
• I am strong.

You guys get the point. Make sure it applies to you and repeat them often. If you have a bracelet that you wear everyday and fiddle with a lot, make it a goal to say your affirmations every time you fiddle with your bracelet. You can also apply this to being grateful too.

If you want more information on affirmations and gratitude, checkout my post on the Law of Attraction.

These self care tips are so important for anyone. If you change your attitude you will change your life. And in order to change your attitude you need to be relaxed and open to new things.

The first couple of times you take time for yourself and do something for you, you may feel guilty. Keeping doing it, once you see that people will survive without you for an hour or less, you will start to feel less guilty and start looking forward to your self care time. Trust me.

I would love to hear what some of your self care tips are! Send me an email at brooke@babblingwithbrooke.com or head over to my Contact Me page.

Happy Relaxing!

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