#selfcareforthesenses

[yes-iamthemadhatter]

Rain on the rooftop, the laughter of babies, string instruments: these are a few of my favorite sounds. I'm aware that not everyone has the same ability with hearing, but if you can use hearing for self care here are some of my ideas. White noise can be relaxing and it can even help some people sleep. If you prefer nature sounds or even the sounds of being in a cafe while staying at home you can find all sorts of options using your phone. Another self care option for hearing would be unwinding by listening to your favorite music or a podcast. What ways do you use sound and hearing for self care? If you enjoyed this post, you might also like the other posts in my #selfcareforthesenses series. Stop reading here, hashtags below. . . . . . . #selfcare #selfcarelove #selfcarefam #mentalwellness #mentalhealthadvocate #favoritesounds #whitenoise #mentalhealthwarrior #mentalhealthisimportant #selfcarepost #stressreduction #stressrelieving #selfcareidea #selfcareideas #selfcareactivities #selfcarematters #selfcarecommunity #selfcarepost #selfcareposts #selfcareadvocate #nothingisordinary #myquietbeauty #seekthepositive #seekthesimplicity #simpleandstill #stillswithstories #theartofslowliving #thelifestyle #thesimpleeveryday (at Skamania County, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnBTYI_OqbR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[yes-iamthemadhatter]

Reposting this one because I want to finish my #selfcareforthesenses series at some pointand it's been a while. This time I'm talking about sight. Now I'm aware that not everyone has the same ability with sight, but if you can use your sight for self care here are some ideas that I have. My first one is Fall leaves. If you're somewhere that the leaves are changing colors I highly recommend looking closely at them, maybe even collecting the ones that you like best, like I do. It can be a very relaxing activity (if you are able to get outdoors; I understand that some of us aren't able to for whatever reason). Pay attention to the differences in color, shape, and size. Maybe take some photos of a leaf bouquet like I did. If Fall leaves aren't your cup of tea try looking for nice pictures with Google or Instagram. My go-tos are sunsets, wildflowers, and cute animals. You can even save a folder of your favorites for when you need that pick-me-up. Other things you could look at are artwork, a pretty jigsaw puzzle as you put it together (I am all about the jigsaw puzzles), a coloring book as you color it, or any nice craft you are making. What other ideas do you have for using your sight for self care? Stop reading here, hashtags below. . . . . . . #selfcare #alliseeispretty #aseasonalshift #aseasonalyear #lookclosely #smalldetails #fallleaves #autumncolor #howihue #fallfeels #fallishere #fallseason #fallmood #falldays #autumnlove #changingseasons #embracingaslowerlife #embracingtheseasons #nature_seekers #alovefornaturesbest #selfcareadvocate #selfcarefam #selfcarepost #mentalhealthisimportant #herpnw #madeinwashington #pnwsmallbusiness #pnwart #pnwmaker (at Pacific Northwest) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckhi8ebObHu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[yes-iamthemadhatter]

It's time for another #selfcareforthesenses post. This time I'm talking about taste. You might want to skip this one if you don't have a good relationship with food or you can't eat or drink for medical or other reasons, but if you can use taste for self care here are some ideas I have.⁠ ⁠ This is going to be a short one because there are really not a lot of things I can think of to say about taste. Basically for taste you can drink something you like, eat something you like, or just taste something you like (for example hard candy or chewing gum).⁠ ⁠ One of the things I like to do is save some special foods or snacks for myself for a day that I need a bit of a pick-me-up. Sometimes that's comfort food (hello Amy's Gluten Free Dairy Free Mac and Cheez) and sometimes it's sweets (I love @nowheychocolate sun butter cups). I highly recommend doing something like this with your own special "treats" for a rough day, if you're able to.⁠ ⁠ And then another nice treat for me is a mug of hot cocoa. I make my own mix in a jar with 2 parts sugar to one part cocoa powder. Then when I want hot cocoa I add some mix to a mug with just enough dairy-free milk to make a paste, microwave for about 30 seconds, then add more milk, stir it together, and microwave until it's hot.⁠ ⁠ So basically that's it, have things you enjoy tasting ready for a day when you need a pick-me-up. Then eat or drink some of them on a rough day.⁠ ⁠ Can you think of any ideas I missed in this post? What are your go-to foods or drinks for rough days?⁠ ⁠ As always I would love to hear your ideas and you can even make your own post and tag it #selfcareforthesenses.⁠ ⁠ Stop reading here, hashtags below.⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #mentalhealthwarrior #chronicillnesswarrior #selfcareisntselfish #selfcaretips #selfcare #takecareofyou #mentalwellness #soulshine #liveyourbestlife #keeponfighting #bentnotbroken #todaysgoodthing #stateofmind #livelifebeautifully #simpleandstill #betterdays #alonetime #mentalhealth #makeitblissful #seekthepositive #pursuewhatislovely #alittlebeautyeveryday #smallmomentsofcalm #believeinyourself #selfcarerevolution #mindbodyandsoul #mindfulmovement #treatyourselfright⁠ (at Carson, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/B40YohQA7wp/?igshid=j3ajesobne7c

[yes-iamthemadhatter]

It's time for #simplejoysaturdayvibes ! Post your own simple joys from the week using that hashtag and tag @growingbliss_farm in your post because she's the one who started this. My simple joys this week have definitely been Fall leaves. This week I felt well enough to go for a short drive with my mom and take some pictures of the leaves changing colors. While my photos didn't all turn out how I wanted them to it was still nice to think of how to show the beauty of the leaves in interesting and unique ways. My favorite leaf photos this week are the ones I took on a different day. My fiancee is living with his parents in Virginia until next Summer and he is so beyond ready for Fall. They are still having Summer weather there though, so I have been gathering the prettiest Fall leaves I can find and I'm going to put them in a little care package for him. That brings me to my next #selfcareforthesenses . This time I'm talking about sight. Now I'm aware that not everyone has the same ability with sight, but if you can use your sight for self care here are some ideas I have. My first one is Fall leaves. If you're somewhere that the leaves are changing colors I highly recommend looking closely at them, maybe even collecting the ones that you like best, like I do. It can be a very relaxing activity (if you are able to get outdoors; I understand that some of us aren't able to for whatever reason). Pay attention to the differences in color, shape, and size. Maybe take some photos of a leaf bouquet like I did. If Fall leaves aren't your cup of tea try looking for nice pictures with Google or Instagram. My go-tos are sunsets, wildflowers, and cute animals. You can even save a folder of your favorites for when you need that pick-me-up. Other things you could look at are artwork, a pretty jigsaw puzzle as you put it together (I am all about the jigsaw puzzles), a coloring book as you color it, or any nice craft you are making. What other ideas do you have for using your sight for self care? Stop reading here, hashtags below. . . . . . . #selfcare #alliseeispretty #aseasonalshift #aseasonalyear #lookclosely #smalldetails #fallleaves #autumncolor #howihue (at Carson, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4F5Mi0FQVJ/?igshid=vuyv7mqy5rou

[yes-iamthemadhatter]

One of the ways I fight my depression is self care for my senses. I'm planning to post a photo for what I do for each sense, and other ideas I can think of for that sense, over the next few weeks. You can follow along with my posts, or share your own posts, with the hashtag #selfcareforthesenses You can definitely use these self care ideas if you don't have depression too. I know that it can be hard to bring yourself to do anything with depression and you might not even think you deserve self care or want to do anything nice for yourself. I used to have to force myself to do self care; you are allowed to do something nice for yourself. So the five basic senses I'm going to share about are: touch, smell, hearing, sight, and taste. And then I also want to talk about ideas for healthy distractions from mental or physical problems, for your brain. I am aware that not everyone has the same ability to use all of these senses but I'm just sharing my ideas, and hopefully you can use at least one of those senses and find some ideas for self care with it. My first sense I'm sharing about is touch. For me this can be putting on soft and comfy clothing, a nice blanket, an oversized hoodie, sweater, or cardigan. It's also using my hands for a creative outlet, like my jewelry making, or using my hands to play a board game, app game, computer game, or to do a jigsaw puzzle or word puzzles. It can also be cuddling or petting a plushie (not sure if I spelled that right but both ways I tried looked weird) or a living animal. It can also be squishing a plushie in a big hug but live animals require gentler hugs. And then the last one for me is taking a nice hot bath and soaking in the tub with a bath bomb or some Epsom salts to relax my muscles. So maybe you got some ideas from some of the things I do, but if not here are some more ideas. You might use a face mask or a lotion or a sugar scrub. Or you could draw or paint or color. You might play with slime or something else you like to feel, like digging in the dirt in a flowerpot or your garden, or picking flowers. You could maybe get a massage. Continued in comments (at Carson, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/B345tzzh8jJ/?igshid=ocq9ub6ni6oe