Self-Care: Filling your empty cup

With the current stress of Covid-19, online/blended classes, and other demands, it is easy to forget about taking care of yourself. This can come at a cost to your emotional, mental, and physical health.

Taking care of yourself first, especially when you are busy, reduces stress and burnout, and replenishes empathy and compassion for others.

Taking a bit of time to go for a walk, reach out to a friend, nap, or cook a nice meal, can lead to greater productivity when you get back to your studies, help reduce physical tension, and can recharge your focus.

Self-care is any deliberate activity that you do to provide for your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

What do you do for self-care?

Exercise

Just 20 minutes can clear your head, reduce physical tension and anxiety and refocus your brain.

Social connection

Especially during the pandemic, connecting with others is a critical form of self-care. Reach out virtually, go for a walk outside with a friend, make a phone call.

Fuel your body

Eating regular, healthy meals maintains your energy and focus.

Make a schedule and keep it!

Time management is critical to self-care and even more important as you navigate this semester.

Sleep

Good sleep hygiene is even more important when you are busy. Try to go to bed and wake up at around the same time every day. Create a bedtime routine to unwind and help with falling asleep.

Check out the Welltrack app

Get the free WellTrack app for MSU students with a focus on prevention and self-care. Once you have it on your phone, laptop, or tablet, login with your MSU NetID!

**Commit to doing at least one thing a day focused on you! Schedule it in and prioritize it just as you would your coursework, work, and other demands.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the act of paying attention on purpose in the present moment without judgement. And what arises from this act is awareness itself. Awareness can be obtained without going anywhere, without buying anything, and can happen at any moment of your day.

Remember, mindfulness is

HERE AND NOW (present moment)

NON-JUDGMENTAL (done without judgement)

ACTIVE (paying attention on purpose)

…this creates awareness

Why is Mindfulness Important?

Mindfulness has been linked to moderate to high improvements in physical and mental health, improved quality of sleep, perfor-mance (especially in cognition), and improving anxiety and depressive symptoms.

This year, COVID-19 has increased our sense of constant change and uncertainty, which can lead to anxiety. Mindfulness can offer help, and support us in living with the constant background noise of this pandemic.

Ways to engage in Mindfulness:

Mindful Breathing

Mindfulness can come in the simplest and most important part to our livelihood: our breath. Take a moment to pause and draw in a deep breath through your nose (counting to 5), hold for a second, before exhaling out of your mouth (counting to 5). Do this 3 times in a row, before continuing with your day.

5 Sense Grounding Technique

For this activity, use great detail when describing 5 things you can hear, 4 things you can see, 3 things you can feel/touch, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.

Mindful Eating

While prepping and/or eating a meal, slow down the process and consider: “What am I noticing about the textures/temperature/shape/colors/smells of my meal?” “How am I feeling as I pick-up/eat/taste my meal?”

Gentle/Seated Stretching

Get grounded and back in touch with sensations in your body. Stretch to your fullest ability, mak-ing mental notes about the sensations in your body and describe them in detail. Don’t forget to breathe!

Mindfulness apps

There are many mindfulness apps, including WellTrack app free for MSU students (https://montana.welltrack.com/). Other apps offer basic mindfulness skills, activities, and guides without payment, such as Calm, Insight Timer, Whil, MyLife, and Simply Being. Explore and find the right app for you!

Check out the CPS Mindfulness page on our website for more information and guided practices: https://www.montana.edu/counseling/selfhelp/selfhelp/mindfulness.html

** Commit to doing at least one thing a day to practice mindfulness. Schedule it in and treat it the way you would your coursework and other demands.

 What is Acceptance?

 

Acceptance is a critical tool in your mental health and wellness toolbox during this time of uncertainty, fear, and stress.

Acceptance = Acknowledging the facts of the world, as they are, and acknowledging the demands of the present moment.

 

  • We cannot change the realities of the pandemic, and we cannot always change how we feel about it.
  • Denying the realities of the pandemic does nothing to help the emotional problems we are facing.
  • Suppressing emotions only makes them bigger.

 

Acceptance is NOT: Approving of the situation, agreeing with it, or giving up!

In the face of what you cannot control, the only path forward is acceptance.

Practicing Acceptance:

 

  • Acknowledge the feelings you are experiencing and know that it is ok to feel them
  • Cultivate a willingness to sit with your emotions: Be willing to experience feelings of sadness related to ourselves and the state of the world. Rather than attempting to escape from uncomfortable emotions, welcome these feelings with kindness and compassion. Willingness is the practice of saying yes to the universe exactly as it is.
  • Engage in mindfulness exercises—this involves turning your attention to the present moment, rather than getting lost in thoughts about what should be or what isn’t. Go to: https://www.montana.edu/counseling/selfhelp/selfhelp/mindfulness.html for more about mindfulness.
  • Focus on what is in your control rather than on what you cannot control.

You are not in control of:

Covid-19 and policies about how it is handled at MSU, in the state, nationally

What is on the media

Other people

You are in control of:

How you engage in and practice self-care strategies and keep yourself healthy

Managing your own time

How you reach out and connect with others

 

Increasing Connection and Decreasing Social isolation

Even before the global pandemic that changed university campuses, loneliness was on the rise for college-aged students. Now, with Covid-19, it is even more difficult for people to connect, make new friends, and socialize, which has lead to increased sense of isolation, loneliness, and potentially mental health problems like depression.

Connecting with others is critically important to our mental and physical health! Did you know that socializing improves your mental and physical health as well as your academic success? Bottom line is, we are social beings—connecting with others is crucial to our overall health and wellbeing.

For the remainder of the semester, prioritize connecting with others, just as you would your homework, job, and other commitments.

Ways to connect during covid-19:

Find a study buddy! Meet virtually or in person (maintaining social distancing) with someone from class. This will likely boost your overall understanding of the material, improve your academic performance, and increase your sense of connection.

Commit to trying one activity a week on campus (either virtually or in person if social distancing is maintained). Go to: montana.edu/calendar/ and check out all of the events! Or go to Cats Connect (https://www.montana.edu/catsconnect/ or through the Corq App) to find out what is happening on campus.

  • Challenge yourself to reach out to someone at least once a day—send a quick text or snap, call, or FaceTime.
  • Help someone else—Volunteer or help a friend or classmate. Helping others is not only a service to them, but can also boost your own sense of well-being and connection.
  • Go for a short walk or hike with a friend.
  • Schedule a zoom dinner date!
  • Watch a show together, even if you can’t be in the same room/house—have movie night using Netflix Party or Hulu Party.
  • Do a quick mindfulness activity with a friend.
  • Play games virtually using Zoom, Discord, or Steam.

 

 Gratitude

How do you express gratitude?

When you express appreciation for what you have, you are engaging in gratitude. Appreciation can arise spontaneously, and is generally warm, a feeling of goodness, and genuine. This inward experience can often have an external influence and can generate a climate of positivity. By practicing gratitude, you may even realize that what you have has value independent of monetary worth. Gratitude is a tool within you to help navigate this very difficult time.

What are the benefits of Gratitude?

  • Improves physical Health
  • Improves sleep
  • Improves psychological health
  • Increases empathy
  • Reduces aggression
  • Increases social connection
  • Enhances self-esteem
  • Improves mental strength
  • Over time, gratitude can help boost happiness!

 

Ways to engage in Gratitude:

 

Journaling – keep a journal, or a notepad, to remind yourself of the gifts, grace, benefits, and good things you enjoy. Make it a goal to write something down daily!

 

Visual reminders – it’s very likely we might forget or become preoccupied with life to engage in a moment of gratitude. Therefore, write on a sticky note or set an alarm in your phone to trigger a moment of gratitude.

 

Gratitude rock/prompts – find a rock that you like (pause, what is it about the rock that you like?), and carry it around you, or place it on your desk or nightstand, to remind you to practice being grateful for at least one thing. You can create prompts that provide ways to begin a gratitude statement (e.g., I’m grateful for the following three things I hear/see/smell/touch/taste, I’m grateful for the following three people).

 

Help someone – offer to help someone with a small task (e.g., throwing out the trash, making copies, send them a resource for a class).

 

Nurture relationships – spend time developing strong, positive relationships, or improving relationships. Check in with a family member, friend, teacher, classmate. Without expecting anything in return, express curiosity about their day and practice attentive listening.

 

Gratitude meditations – feel free to look up a gratitude themed meditation on the internet or on any free app. Sometimes, a quiet and reflective moment can bring up things in which to be grateful for.

 

** Commit to a moment of gratitude at least once a day. Consider it a moment of self-care, mindfulness, acceptance, self-compassion, and connecting with yourself/others.

Self Compassion

 What is self compassion?

Self-compassion is an important inner resource for getting through stressful, uncertain times. However, many of us struggle with understanding what this is and how being compassionate towards oneself is important. Self-compassion is the ability to turn understanding, acceptance, and empathy towards yourself, particularly in the face of failure and stress. Self-compassion is NOT an act of selfishness or self-pity, rather it is accepting yourself for who you are, in this moment, flaws and all. Research on self-compassion shows it is linked to mental wellbeing, including feeling less stressed, depressed, and anxious. It also decreases perfectionism.

Kristin Neff, a leading researcher on self-compassion breaks it down into three elements:

  1. Self-Kindness: Refraining from harsh criticism of the self
  2. Recognizing your own humanity: All people are imperfect and experience pain
  3. Mindfulness: Maintaining a non-biased awareness of experiences, even painful ones, instead of ignoring them.

Remember: Self-Compassion is a skill we all can develop, and it improves with practice!

Ways to develop and practice self-compassion:

  • Practice deliberate acts of self-care as a physical expression of self-compassion. Going for a walk when frustrated, making a cup of tea or a nice meal when stressed are simple ways to take care of yourself in a compassionate way.
  • Allow yourself to make mistakes instead of beating yourself up for them. And then treat yourself as you would a friend who has just made the same mistake. The idea is that you are likely much kinder to a friend in this situation.
  • Write a letter to yourself focused on each element of self-compassion. Articulate what you are thinking and feeling, and then write a message of kindness to yourself, just as you would to a friend. Lastly, describe how your experience is connected to the broader context of our society and/or world.
  • Ask for support from close others and allow them to help you. Reaching out and taking the risk to be vulnerable by asking for help is difficult. Allowing yourself to receive that help is at the center of begin kind to yourself.