When you’re in a relationship–especially a new relationship–it’s easy to put all your focus on making the other person happy while neglecting to take care of your own needs. Unfortunately, this is the wrong approach. Neglecting your own self-care can lead to issues like codependence and depression. It can even cause you to subconsciously resent your partner, which can doom the relationship. Luckily, preventing these issues is easy when you prioritize self-care from early on in the relationship. Here’s how.
The number one way to take care of yourself while in a relationship is to set–and stick to–boundaries with your significant other.
Every relationship needs boundaries. Whether that’s explaining where you do–and don’t–like to be touched or being clear about the balance between couple time and personal time you need, setting boundaries is crucial to a healthy relationship and to feeling safe and secure within that relationship. Setting boundaries goes hand in hand with communicating with your partner, which is the number one most important tip in any relationship.
Pampering yourself sounds selfish–and maybe it is if you do it for five hours every day. But pampering yourself on a regular basis–say, once a week–is a great way to relax and decompress. Even better, when you’re relaxed and you feel good about your body, you’re more likely to show confidence when you’re around your partner, which will make them love you even more.
So how do you pamper yourself? Consider taking a bath, shaving, painting your toes, and indulging in a home foot massage. You can learn about some of the best home foot massagers over at https://healingfootspa.com/.
Have Your Own Hobbies
Here’s a hard truth: When you spend every waking moment with your partner, there’s nothing new to talk about. You become boring. After a while, you and your partner become bored with one another, and you both forget who you are without each other around.
To prevent that from happening, it’s important that you each have your own hobbies. Have at least one thing that you like to do by yourself or with your friends–without your partner–on a regular basis. This keeps you from losing yourself in your relationship. It allows you to continue growing as an individual while retaining your identity. And–best of all–when you’re done, you have something to come home and chat with your significant other about!
Not sure what to do for a hobby? If you’ve been in a relationship for a while and find yourself in a rut, or if you just haven’t discovered your passion yet, start by checking out what events are happening in your local community. You may find that there’s a group that meets at the library that you want to check out or a festival in town that you want to attend with some friends. And if all else fails, you can always take a class to learn a new skill.
Care for Your Body
Diet, exercise, water, and sleep. These are the four pillars around which your mental health rests. If any of these pillars is out of whack, it can send the rest of your life into a tailspin. That’s why it’s so important to care for your body on a regular basis.
When it comes to nutrition, listen to your body. Pay attention to which foods give you energy and which foods make you crash. Track what you eat, and notice what days you feel achy and sluggish. Avoiding those foods, and relying instead on whole, unprocessed foods to fuel your body can make a huge difference in how you feel.
Meanwhile, exercising on a regular basis can keep you feeling strong and capable. Frequent exercise can also improve your mood and energy levels. This can help your relationship out by making you all-around more fun to be around.
Taking care of yourself is important regardless of what stage of life you’re in. You can’t wait for other people to make you happy, even when you’re in a relationship. There’s an old adage that you have to love yourself before you can love someone else, and it’s completely true. If you’re not taking care of yourself properly, you end up with a body that is tired and fatigued and an attitude that is strained. This can come out in a variety of ways, whether it’s being more emotional than you would normally be or snapping at your significant other. But no matter how it comes out, it doesn’t come out attractive. Rather than spending all of your time and energy trying to make someone else happy, use a portion of that energy to make yourself happy. Your relationship will thrive as a result!