Caring for another person can be tiring. It can take up a lot of your time. Caring can be very rewarding, but you are a person with your own needs that must be met in order for you to thrive. If you are caring for someone else, you need to care for yourself as well. It can sometimes feel like there are much more important things to deal with, but if you do it, it will improve your wellbeing.
You can sometimes become so busy with responsibility, that it is easy to bypass the things that make you feel fulfilled, rested and happy. For each and every one of us, the things that will help us to achieve this will be different. Some of us like to draw, some like to take walks in nature, some enjoy physical exercise and some like to talk on the phone to friends.

Here are some things to think about when you are thinking about how to take care of yourself. Fill in the blanks:

I feel most relaxed when I am …………………………………………
I feel the happiest when I am ………………………………………….
I feel calm when I am …………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………… makes me laugh.
When I spend time with……………………………………… I feel good.
When I ……………………I can focus completely on what I am doing.

When you have filled in these blanks, you should have some good ideas of things that you would like to find time for in your life.
A good thing to do is talk to your family about having time for yourself to do some of these things.
You know yourself best, but some suggestions of things that you could do to look after yourself are: take a long walk, have a bath, take up a sporting activity, join a drama group, call your friends for a chat, do some yoga, practice mindfulness, do some crafts, do some creative writing, go to the gym. Click on the links below for some more ideas.

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