Happy June everyone!! I don’t know about y’all but the last month has been HECTIC. My word! I honestly feel like this has been one of the most stressful months I’ve had for a long time. I’ve been extremely busy with work and potential career changes, that have all been weighing heavily on my mind.

Apart from being slammed with work, I’ve also been busy every weekend with varying tasks – which has been fun but simultaneously exhausting. I spent a weekend in Vancouver at a work event and spent some time re-connecting with friends I hadn’t seen in awhile, which was great. The following weekend, I had another work event in Kelowna. The next couple of weekends I was in Oliver for my cousin’s engagement, and then for my cousin’s prom – what a crazy month it’s been!! Super fun, but wild.

This past week in particular has been very stressful as I’ve been waiting to hear back about some potential career changes. When encountering these kinds of stressful situations, it is so important to have ways to check in with ourselves and take care of our mental health during these trying times. Something I’ve discussed at length with my therapist is when life gets more stressful, you need to add in even more self-care tasks. It may sound contradictory but this past week I have found it to be more true than ever! I quite honestly wouldn’t have made it through the week without implementing specific self-care practices every single day.

Below are some of the self-care tasks I’ve been doing daily this past week that have made a big difference:

• working out and stretching regularly – alternating between yoga to calm the body/mind and spin to energize
• meditating and deep breathing – even just a few minutes a day has been huge
• journaling – I recently realized that I stopped journaling for the entire month of May and I honestly think it’s a big factor as to why I’ve been feeling so stressed! It makes SUCH a difference to get your thoughts onto paper.
• cleaning my space and using aromatherapy, such as a diffuser or candles, to set a calming mood
• attempting to go to bed earlier and prioritize sleep
• limiting screen time at night and reading more
• focusing on creative energies such as writing and drawing
• talking to friends and family on the phone or in person when I am able to
• affirmations to ground myself and set intentions
• listening to music to pump myself up or calm down, either works
• dancing in the kitchen

All of these tasks are really focused on creating a sense of calm and wellness. High stress and high anxiety has been rampant for me and I’ve felt doing these are really one of the only ways I can calm down, especially in the evening. I have specifically dedicated time to these self-care activities during the week-nights and it has made a big difference. I truly mean it when I say I wouldn’t have made it through the past week without them! I also made sure to focus on having a relaxing weekend to check in with myself and recharge.

If you’re struggling with your mental health, or general stress and anxiety, then I hope you find these tips helpful. These are what have worked for me personally, but everyone is different, so I encourage you to play around and see what works best for you to bring you into a calm and clear state of mind. You’ve got this, and when armed with the right self-care activities, I believe you can take on the world!

xo, C.