Now more than ever, it’s essential to be mindful of yourself and your needs. That doesn’t automatically mean being selfish, but rather giving yourself the ability to be your best self for others. Sometimes you just need to address your needs and give yourself something that is the best for you.
Be aware of what your mind needs for its health. Pay attention to what you’re feeling and why. Sometimes it isn’t so obvious and it may take some thought to get to the root of the emotion to understand where it’s coming from. Sometimes it’s even something incredibly minor that started a negative domino effect. Take the time to stop and analyze your thoughts and feelings, and identify their source.
Paying attention to how you feel physically might be obvious, but I encourage you to be mindful of everything, even the littlest things. I don’t mean be overly concerned over a minor pain, but be aware of it and keep track of it. Try to think of why it might be occurring. In the past, for me, it’s been something extremely minor that ends up hurting more later, and addressing it as soon as you notice will keep it from getting worse.
I extend the issue of mindfulness of your body to the subject of cravings. Oftentimes, there are nutritional reasons we get them. Even though they may seem unimportant, notice them and look into why you may be having that craving. At one time, I was craving fish for days; I did some research, and found I may have had an iodine deficiency. I ate some iodine rich food (in this case dried seaweed), and the craving went away.
Taking care of yourself enables you to care for others and to be mindful of others. In this situation especially, we need to be our best to support and take care of one another, and that begins with being mindful and supportive of your needs.