One of the best ways to practice self care: a long soothing bath

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When it comes to just living life, it’s a stressful and complicated endeavor. If you manage to make it through the day without hearing of some tragedy, you’re already ahead of the curve. Let’s face it. Times are tough, and it’s not easy to shrug things off and not feel hopeless to some degree.

Sadly, most of the things that happen around us are out of our control, yet they still manage to affect our mind, body, and spirits negatively. So, how do you rise above it? How do you find your way off of the daily crazy train with all of your faculties intact? You must learn the self-sustaining act of how to practice Self Care.

How to practice Self care

Self care is a loving act of carving out time to minister to your personal needs. Every human being has a breaking point; self-care allows you to take a moment and dial back the stresses of the day and do what is necessary to soothe and protect your own mental health.

The best way to reset a week’s worth of stress is to invest in a weekly 30-45 minute bathing ritual. I am a shower-er by nature, but I can’t express to you how relaxing a bath is after a stressful week. I have invested myself by hitting up stores like Tuesday Morning, Big Lots, Marshall’s, Ross and Amazon for the various tools that I needed to enjoy my bath time.

Here are the tools that I recommend:

A very comfortable bath mat to greet your well-pumiced feet as you step out of the tub, like this one.

A metal bath tray to hold soap, sponge, an electronic reader (the most modern ones have a rack that will safely hold your kindle so it won’t drop into the water) and even a glass of wine or your choice of beverage. I love this stainless steel caddy.

Scented candles to add ambiance to the experience. Try Bath and Body Works Three-wick candle on for size.

A cushioned tub mat that will keep your bottom comfy as you soak all of your worries away.

An electronic reader (as shown above), magazines or your favorite book that you’ve put off reading. I highly recommend the Kindle Paperwhite.

I’ve always had trouble with stoppers never really stopping the water from draining out. This stopper is made of silicone and has a suction grip out of this world. It is the best eight bucks that I have ever spent at Amazon.com.

I’ve never found the back of the tub particularly appealing. It’s usually cold, hard and harsh juxtaposed against the warmth of the water. The solution is to invest in a This nifty cushioned bath pillow. This one protects the back of your head, neck and extends below the water’s surface to cover your shoulder blades or lower depending on your height. I paid 17.00 at Amazon.com.

Naturally, the piece de resistance is what you put in your bathtub. I tend to favor Lavender because of it’s soothing, relaxing and helps to relieve pain. There are many scented bath oils and Epsom salts that will address whatever your particular ailment may be. I highly recommend Dr. Teal’s scented liquid Epsom salt. It only costs 5.00 from Big Lots.

I’m an admitted water hog. I like to fill my tub as full as it can go and nothing is more frustrating than to hear the overfill’s wretched sound. Solution: Buy a Better Bath Deep Water Bathtub overflow cover for nine bucks at Amazon and relax, fully submerged in your bath.

If you love listening to music, I recommend The Most Relaxing Classical Music In The Universe. Whatever it takes to get your mind clear and focused, is what you should do. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to finding what works best for you.

But keep in mind that while finding time to decompress is critical, self-care also means taking care of things that you have put off because you can’t face it or it’s hard.

You must learn that avoidance generally leads to negative consequences and it only has a snowball effect. Facing up to the unpleasantness of life isn’t something we relish, but it is something that we must do.

I’ve always found that the longer I put something off, the more tense and anxious it made me. As soon as I started acting like an adult, things became more comfortable to deal with, and I felt less pressure as I ticked each task off of my list.

So remember, to create a balance: De-stress, but still do the work that is required to deal with the inevitable.