Lofi Hip Hop Beats For The Soul: Self Care Tips For The Self Isolated

You can’t blog about self care too often. Especially these days. I’ve already discussed on bigger levels how to deal with yourself and your community during COVID-19/coronavirus, particularly in regards to practicing good hygiene and helping others around you.

Now it’s time for some serious talk.

We’re gonna be in this for the long haul. This is not a two week, one month, or even three month stint. If we spend every day stressed and panicking it won’t help us. Some people are saying this will go on until the end of summer, others an entire year.

Either way, we can’t spend this time in a constant state of anxiety and worry. It not only isn’t healthy but it will wreck our immune systems.

So here’s a good list of self care suggestions on how to decompress, relax, and be good to yourself during this time.

1. Animal Planet has a Too Cute marathon going on right now. As you work from home, enjoy puppies and kittens in the background. Only good things and nothing stressful can come from puppies and kittens. When the marathon is over, you can still watch episodes online.
2. YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music is where you can find ChilledCow, a source for lofi hip hop beats. Soothing music to relax, study, and work to throughout your day as you continue to shelter in place. YouTube features endless loops of an anime girl studying with a kitty in the window. You can feel the calm radiating from the clip along with the music.
3. Chamomile and lavender are just a couple of herbs known to help calm and relieve anxiety. Chamomile tea and using lavender essential oils, lotions, scented candles, incense, etc. can help ease your state while you “hunka down”, as we say here in Massachusetts.
4. Get enough sleep. Drinking chamomile tea before bedtime, taking melatonin, or hot baths can help you get to sleep if you’re having trouble.
5. Consider downloading a meditation app and getting into the practice, even if only 5 minutes a day. I recommend either Headspace or Calm.
6. Remember to constantly get up, stretch, and move around. Set alarms or reminders on your phone if needed.
7. Do yoga. There are numerous five minute yoga videos on YouTube.
8. Keep up regular spiritual practice. If you don’t have a regular practice, make one. It can be as basic as lighting a candle and saying a few words, using prayer beads for specific deities, or whatever suits your fancy.
9. Maintain a regular schedule as much as you can. It’ll help to maintain a sense of normalcy.
10. Don’t feel pressured to be “productive”. Beyond whatever tasks and responsibilities you have for your job as you work from home, don’t feel like you have to suddenly start doing home renovations or projects like that.
11. Hydrate and eat healthy at least 80% of the time. Get a phone app that tracks water intake if it’ll help.
12. Take one day at a time. This is a marathon, not a sprint.