Self Care When I Don't Have Time or Money

Most often when we talk about the level of stress we are under, our well meaning friends may give advice like, "try seeing a therapist", or "take some time for yourself and get a massage. However, if you're stressed you probably feel like you don't have the time or money for those things. So then you're left wondering what your options are for self care when you don't have time or money.

Therapy is a great option when you can afford it, but if you can't these are the most suggested techniques given by professional therapists and psychologists: Eating healthy, meditation, taking small breaks, journaling, and positive thinking.

In this article, we will be breaking down each technique and how you can implement it in your life with using very little time and next to nothing in money. Also, I will be going over some other resources you can use to learn more about taking care of yourself.

Eating Healthy (Even with Little Time and Money)

You can afford apples and bananas more often than you can afford McDonalds, or a box of Macaroni and cheese. Lettuce, carrots, and cabbage are very inexpensive. You can even eat and feed your family raw fruits and vegetables without having to cook and it makes such a difference in your mental and physical health.

Simply eating fruits and vegetables more and added sugar and processed junk foods less with lower your stress level.

Healthy Foods You Can Buy on a Budget	Health Benefits	​Ways to Include Food in Your Diet
Bananas	Provides you with fiber, vitamins and nutrients, and fills you up quickly.	You can eat it raw and it is convineint to pack; frozen bananas are a perfect base for smoothies. Plus it is makes a great combo with peanut butter.
Apples	Provides you with fiber, vitamins and nutrients, and fills you up quickly.	​Apples can be baked, made into sauce, put into breads and pies, and eaten whole.
Carrots	Provides you with fiber, vitamins and nutrients, and fills you up quickly.	Carrots can be boiled with salt, or brown sugar, roasted, steamed, or eaten raw with humus or ranch.
Potatoes	Provides you with fiber, vitamins and nutrients, and fills you up quickly.	​Potatoes can be baked whole or cut, boiled, mashed, roasted, or placed in a stew.
Eggs	Provides you with a good source of protein, fat, and nutrients	Eggs have been used in countless dishes and can be cooked by themselves as omlets, fried, scrambled, poached, etc.
Rice	A very filling grain that promotes and healthy digestion, and is gluten free for our gluten intolerant crowd.	Rice must be cooked. You can boil it, or steam it. Afterwards, you can eat it as is, add it to other dishes, or eat it with butter and salt.
Cabbage	​Cabbage is one of the most nutrient dense foods you can get, and it's one of the cheapest.	Cabbage can be eaten raw, but most people chop up cabbage for soups and salads. You can also roast cabbage with olive oil and salt and pepper.

Meditation Throughout the Day

Meditation doesn't have to take twenty minutes everyday. You don't have to wake up earlier or do yoga. Instead, meditated when you are doing everyday tasks. Think about how beautiful your surroundings are when you are driving to work, or dropping off your kids. Think about what you are grateful for when you brush your teeth. Clear you mind of negative thoughts and the stress of the day when you take a shower.

Taking these small brain breaks are helpful while you are still ticking things off of your list. Don't get me wrong, it's good to take actual breaks as well - especially for food, but you can also take moments to meditate while doing other things as well.

Journaling

You don't have to spend thirty minutes to an hour journaling. Instead, take five minutes first thing in the morning. Write down a list of things you are grateful for and a list of important tasks you need to get done that day. As the day goes on, look over both lists and tick off the items on your to-list you finished.

In your journaling you can also write down your worries and fears and ask yourself, "is this a rational fear?" and "Is this something I can control?" If you can't control what the outcome will be then accept that there's nothing you can do. There is so much freedom in realizing there's nothing you can do and that worrying doesn't help the situation.

Positive Thinking

This is something else we can use throughout our day that makes a huge difference and often saves us time and helps us be more productive. Positive thinking is simply the act of thinking in a positive way about yourself and the situation in front of you. It doesn't mean you are being delusional in thinking everything is great, but rather thinking of how you can be better, or what good can come from any situation.

As a matter of fact, accepting that change is a part of life and that challenges are bound to happen is part of positive thinking. We are using positive thinking in a constructive way when we look at a difficult situation with the mindset that we are going to do our best, than to cripple and believe we will fail because it's too hard, or to fail because we assumed it would be fine if we didn't plan and work hard.

Resources:

The Bible

The Bible contains a multitude of articles inspirational passages for us to live by. Here are a few to help you get through each day:

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Ephesians 5:29 “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,”

You Tube

There are many You Tube channels that either share their own content from experience and education and there are channels that share clips of speakers who are knowledgeable on the subject of self care. The channel I suggest the most is more of how to take care of your mind and to learn to live a more mindful and meaningful life.

Motivation Thrive is a channel that shares relativant clips from lectures and debates done by Dr. Brene Brown, Simon Sinek, and Psycologist Jordan Peterson.

Blogs

Zen Habits is a blog that shares tips and tricks to be mindful and promote positive thinking. It was founded by Leo Babauta who was a journalist and is now a blogger and author. His blog has been motivating individuals for over 10 years now.