How many times have you greeted a colleague or friend with “Hi, how are you?” and breezed through the standard “fine, thank you” response?
Often, we do the same thing with ourselves, not taking the time to register thoughts, emotions, or physical experiences other than “fine.” By reading through this blog post, you can pause for a moment and walk through an honest self-check-in.
Notice your surroundings. Are you at home, on public transit, or standing in line at the grocery store? Is it loud or quiet?
How is your body feeling? Are you tense or jittery? Are you holding your breath?
What was on your mind before you started reading this post?
How are you feeling? Are you anxious, sad, or joyful?
Take three slow breaths, in and out.
This self-check-in guide can be used at any time of day and as frequently as you would like. Processing your thoughts and emotions throughout the day, instead of allowing them to pile up over time, can improve your overall wellness.
Because they’re so brief, these self-check-ins can be incorporated into your normal daily routine. Maybe you do a self-check-in while you’re waiting for your morning toast, or for the water to heat up in your shower. Building self-check-ins into existing parts of your day helps to solidify this healthy habit.
For more information on incorporating wellness into your daily routine, check out our INFocus library of videos or schedule an appointment with one of our highly skilled therapists today.