I was scrolling through twitter the other day when I saw a tweet that read: when last did you remove that hair net from your head? It felt like a personal attack to me. The only time my bonnet left my head was when I replaced it with a shower cap. I couldn’t even remember the last time I washed my hair. It was just matted up beneath my bonnet. I can’t be the only person who is experiencing the same I-don’t-care- attitude towards their own body, so I asked a couple of my friends the same question. Apparently, a lot of us have stopped taking care of our hair, and our skin and we’ve been eating an unhealthy amount of junk food. I can’t blame anyone for this, we are living in very difficult times.
My institution provided us with virtual mental health specialists to speak with and one of the first things the lady I spoke to said was related to physically caring for the body. She said when we stop taking care of our physical bodies, we gradually stop taking care of our minds and in this very precarious time, that option shouldn’t be on the table. She said when we consciously care for our bodies, it translates directly to our mental health. Here are the suggestions she made:
Take a bath/shower at least once per day
I didn’t know some people were skipping showers, please if you fall in this category, repent.
Stick to your skincare routine
I fall into this group. I am always asking myself why should I waste my lotion on my skin when I am not going outside? Why should I use my serums or face scrub? Why not? Do we care for our skin because of other people or for ourselves?
Stick to your hair care routine
This one is just really difficult, but I will try to remove my hair net from my head every day, spray it with my water/oil mix and fluff out my hair.
Be mindful about the food you are cooking and eating
This might be a good time to explore those recipes you couldn’t find the time to explore.
Have a healthy work-rest routine
That you are working from home doesn’t mean you should work all day and it doesn’t also mean you should sleep all-day
Exercise
Go for walks (we are still allowed to walk but maintain social distancing). There are a ton of yoga exercises or regular exercise routines on YouTube, stretch those muscles.
Connect
This is especially important for people who are living alone. It’s true that we are seeing each other’s posts on social media but scrolling through and liking isn’t enough. Call people, have conversations, watch a movie together on Netflix, don’t stay isolated physically and virtually.
It’s the little things that matter…
Stay safe everyone