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How Introverts Can Take Better Care of their Mind and Body
If you feel drained and have low energy after socializing with others and being surrounded by others, you might be an introvert. Introverts tend to need more alone time in order to feel calm and grounded. There’s nothing selfish about needing to step back from it all to get recentered. In fact, staying on the go and socializing all the time can be damaging for your mental health if you tend toward introversion. Below, learn more about why self care matters so much and discover a few of the best ways to boost your mental and physical health if you’re an introvert.
Try to Know Yourself Better
Introverts often feel misunderstood and lonely because the world tells us that it’s abnormal to want to be alone. As a result, introverts themselves often feel guilty about their inclinations. However, understanding how you get your energy and recharge can help you know yourself better and start letting go of preconceived notions about the way you should act.
There are numerous books and personality tests that can provide insight into your personality type. As far as tests go, one of the most insightful ones is the Myers-Briggs. A free version of the test is available from 16 Personalities. You might also like The Big Five personality test. If you want to explore your personality type in even more depth, books such as Quiet by Susan Cain or The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron are excellent choices.
Learning about your personality can make you feel understood, while also helping you accept and love yourself the way you are. However, Psychology Today warns against pigeonholing yourself into any one personality type, as you may end up developing a fixed mindset that limits your ability to grow.
Practice Self Care Through Healthy Eating
What you eat can have a profound effect on your physical health, but also your mental wellbeing. When you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, it’s all too easy to reach for quick snacks and meals. Unfortunately, these things tend to be more processed and full of ingredients like sugar, which can actually make anxiety symptoms worse.
Luckily, there are a lot of meals that are nourishing and easy to prep on the weekend for the week ahead. If you’re feeling bored with your usual rotation of recipes, you can switch things up with a variety of shelf-stable grains and dried goods. Quinoa, brown rice, barley and couscous are all great things to add to your diet because they’re healthy and incredibly versatile.
Focus on Positive Actions
Aside from eating well and trying to know yourself better, you can also practice self care through other healthy habits. For example, exercising daily -- even if it’s just 10 minutes of sun salutations -- can have a positive impact. Likewise, getting in the habit of journaling every day can help you manage your mental health and reflect on how problems and fears affect you.
Another positive action you can take is to cleanse your home of negative energy. Whether you’re highly sensitive or not, the environment in your home can have a significant impact on your overall well-being. Negative energy can come from numerous sources, such as bringing home stress from work, having lots of clutter or even having arguments at home.
Getting rid of clutter and doing a full cleaning session where you get into all the nooks and crannies is a good starting point. You may also find that it helps to burn sage or clean your doors and windows with a purifying mixture of lemons and sea salt. Using crystals that boost positive energy may be beneficial as well.
As an introvert, you are probably more sensitive to life’s stressors than others, but that’s no reason to feel bad about yourself. Knowing how your energy is restored, eating well and getting into positive habits are just a few ways you can improve your overall health and wellbeing.