Types of Emotional Self-Care

When it comes to self-care, most of the activities you probably have in mind help more 
with your physical body. These might include taking a bubble bath, getting a massage, 
doing a face mask, or any other form of pampering for your body. But there are so many 
ways to practice self-care more for your mind and emotional health. 


Protect Your Energy

One of the most important things you can do for yourself when it comes to emotional 
self-care is protecting your energy. Consider the people who are around you on a 
regular basis, and how you feel during and after spending time with them. 

If you discover friends or colleagues that make you feel exhausted, like your energy has 
been depleted just from a conversation with them, they are likely energy vampires. 
These are toxic people who will take all your positive energy and leave you feeling 
emotionally drained. 

Now is a good time to start spending a little less time with these types of people.


Ground Yourself

Grounding is a wonderful practice that not only helps you feel more connected to the 
Earth, but also more connected to yourself. The simplest and most effective way for 
grounding is to go outside and put your bare feet in the natural earth’s surface. Standing 
on dirt or grass outside is really healing and soothing. You will notice the effects almost 
instantly if you are mindful during this process. It can be done at a park, forest, while 
hiking or going for a walk.

Anther option is to put your bare feet in sand, such as at the beach. You might also 
want to go into water, like the ocean, lake, or river. Even being in your own shower can 
be really grounding and soothing for your mind. Some other grounding options include 
drawing, reading, listening to music, or any mindful activity that helps you feel centered.


Use a Journal for Self-Reflection

A very simple self-care practice for your emotional and mental wellbeing is to write in a 
journal. There are many ways to journal, and they are all beneficial for you, but for 
emotional self-care specifically, self-reflection and clarity is really important.

Journaling for self-reflection is when you journal your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. 
Really dig deep to consider how you feel at any given time, what your primary thoughts 
are, what challenges you are dealing with, and just how you notice your moods and 
emotions shifting.

The more honest you are during this process, the more self-reflection and self-
awareness you will discover. 


Allow Yourself to Rest

Something as simple as taking a little 20-minute nap in the afternoon when you’re tired 
or going to sleep earlier can be considered self-care. Your body and your mind both 
need rest. If you get burned out by working too much or simply don’t allow yourself 
enough time for sleep, both your body and your mental state will react badly. It can 
make emotional stress much more severe, and make it extremely difficult to improve 
your emotional wellbeing.

An easy way to start resting more is make a daily goal of allowing yourself just 15-20 
minutes in the afternoon to do whatever makes you feel restful. This can be a micro 
nap, sitting somewhere comfy to read a book, lounging on your patio, or even just sitting 
down to watch something uninterrupted. 


Reduce Social Media Noise

Social media noise is any of the drama, distractions, and even triggers that are caused 
by what you see on social media. It isn’t bad to want to use social media, but it can be 
easy to be negatively affected by it on an emotional level, without actually realizing how 
much of an impact it has on you. A good way to tell is just go 24 hours without using it, 
and write down how you feel when you’re done. 

Are you more relaxed? Did you have more time to focus on other things? Did you notice 
the lack of being emotionally triggered helped you in some way? If so, you know social 
media was a big part of your mental stress. 

