Self-care is vital for a balanced and happy life. Self-care can come in so many different forms. Many view self-care as a face mask, a lovely soak in a bubble bath and a good old pamper. Yes, they are great self-care activities, but self-care is so much more than some pampering.
Self-care is about making decisions to preserve or improve your health, so you should invest in powerful, but simple self-care practices.
Have you ever thought about self-care centred on stationery? As a self-confessed stationery addict, I have been able to try stationery self-care ideas that have enabled me to take care of my physical and mental health. These are 5 ways that stationery can aid your self-care:
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1. Helps you to practise mindfulness
When you bust out the colouring pencils or pens and are colouring, you are being in the present. You can focus on the colours you are using and how the colours look on the page, which allows you to practise mindfulness. Therapeutic activities like colouring are known to reduce stress and anxiety, helps to improve your motor skills, vision, sleep and even your focus.
Other stationery activities that allow you to practise mindfulness are: painting, doodling, drawing, leaf printing, scraping art, rock painting and junk journaling.
2. Improves your mental health
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health and stationery themed activities can aid your self-care. Using a journal can give you a safe and secure place to write down your thoughts, feelings and basically whatever you wish to. You do not need to write pages and pages; you could just list feelings if you want. Putting pen to paper can enable you to get your thoughts or anxieties on paper and out of your head. This can already reduce the stress you could be feeling. There are so many positive benefits to using journaling in your self-care routine including: boost in memory, reduction of stress and anxiety, improves your focus, your memory and can help you sleep better if you journal in the evening.
As well as journaling about your concerns and feelings, you can also practise gratitude, which is a powerful practice to create a positive mindset and boost your own happiness. You will start to look for and focus on the positive and good things I your day/life. This will then reduce your stress levels, which improves your overall physical health.
3. Builds self-confidence and self-worth
When you start a creative activity, you reap all the benefits that it brings, but what about when you finish? When you finish a creative venture and have accomplished that task, it can boost your self-esteem, self-worth and your confidence. That sense of accomplishment can improve your mental health. When you have achieved that activity it can boost your confidence to try more activities as well as develop your skills. I have felt that sense of accomplishment when I have finished monthly bullet journal spread.
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4. Makes you feel good
If you are a stationery lover like me, then you will get a lot of joy from using pretty stationery and you will enjoy shopping for a new notebook, or the latest pen trend. I always get so much joy from shopping for stationery, starting a new notebook or planner.
Being creative with stationery activities is so much fun and a great way to relax and spend your spare time as well as gaining all the benefits mentioned in this post.
5. Creates a positive mindset
Stationery self-care ideas like journaling and gratitude journaling can enable you to improve your mental health, which can give you a positive mindset. With a positive mindset, your whole life can change for the better.
When you partake in self-care activities in any form, it can help you to relax and generally feel a lot happier. When you have a better mood, it is far easier to get into a positive mindset.
Related to: Unhealthy mindsets that are ruining your life
Just remember, when you are planning your self-care routine for the day or the week, it doesn’t always need to relate to pampering. So, why not give stationery themed activities a go and see what benefits you feel and see? You may be pleasantly surprised!
Have you tried stationery themed self-care activities before? Which ones and how did they help you? I’d love to hear in the comments.
The way you weave together the benefits of writing, planning, and creative expression through stationery exemplifies your deep connection to mindful living. Your words serve as a reminder that self-care is not solely about grand gestures but also the gentle, nurturing moments we create for ourselves.
Thank you for highlighting the power of these small rituals and how they can have a big impact on our mental and emotional balance. Your article encourages us to embrace the beauty of simplicity and find joy in the details of self-care.