Mental Health Tuesday - Importance of Self care
Updated: May 24, 2021
Why Self care is important for our wellbeing
There are many reasons why at Lake House we believe skin care benefits wellbeing, from the studies we’ve read on how skin concerns affect people’s quality of life as well us our customer feedback on their skin experiences, skin care routine has proven to improve on how we feel. Not only can mental health affect our skin, our skin can affect our mental health so the goal is always to look after both of them - that’s why we see skincare as an extremely valid mode of self-care.
Skin conditions can impact the quality of life of the sufferers, it is proven time and time again that the severity of skin concern tends to align with how the sufferer rates their quality of life. As someone who has suffered with my skin at varying points of my life, I can attest to this - it sort of affect our confidence and other character traits.
This also correlates with the experience of our clients in the Lake House Network, with many coming to us because their skin is affecting their quality of life. Some say that they can’t leave the house, won’t let their partner see them without makeup on or that they can’t look at themselves in the mirror.
When the skin improves because of the correct approach to treating it, that will obviously improve quality of life but we have found that for many, even carrying out a simple routine in the morning and evening can help them.
A skincare routine can provides stability, researchers found that people who have less consistent routines throughout the active parts of their day were more likely to suffer from major depressive and or bipolar behaviors , mood problems, loneliness, and less happiness.
Doing something nice for ourselves stops us from worrying. The act of caring for our skins provides an opportunity for mindfulness (we mentioned this in our previous blog). Mindfulness is when we are present in experiencing sensations without passing judgment (for instance the soothing feel of warm water). These practices and more are believed and have truly been seen to buffer depression and anxiety stopping worry and rumination. When we engage in such activities for a few minutes, we can help our brain unhook from unhealthy, spiraling thinking patterns.
One of the reasons why baths are so inherently calming is firstly, we expect to feel relaxed as we lower our bodies into or under warm water. Naturally it is relaxing to our muscles. Physical relaxation sends our brains the message that it’s time to be calm and mellow, reducing our stress and boosting our brain moods.
Some experts have suggested for example using colloidal oatmeal(blended / crushed oats) in your warm bath or body bar soaps (made with using oats & other botanicals)
can ease,eczema, psoriasis, and generally dry skin. Soaking for 10 minutes or leaving soap lather to sit on your skin for some minutes as you bathe or rub the lather all over your body.
Right now, the world is a stressful place. We might get into habits of jumping into bed without so much as splashing our faces with water because we are just too tired or too lazy to take that makeup off. But what if, instead, we focused on taking care of ourselves in small ways like spending five extra minutes to treat our skins. When we do this we are sending a powerful message of “I’m worth it,” a good confidence feeling. Again whatever routine you
pick on be mindful, for instance what might be one of the more impactful steps is finding a moisturizer that you really love. ( and as we use the moisturizer, some things we can consider: Does it feel good going onto your skin? Does it smell pleasant? Does your skin feel good after?) Moisturizing serves to improve the overall look and appearance of the skin, while also restoring and maintaining the skin’s function as a barrier to the environment. It also helps improve circulation to the skin, which can help better your general sense of well-being.
There are surely numerous ways to practice self-care, but today, this month (hopefully for a life time) we should focus our efforts on improving skin health because it pays off for our mental and emotional health. We might not understand it but there is a direct correlation between a skin-care routine and our moods. Taking the time to nurture our skins affects our minds and bodies. It boosts our confidence and gives us a sense of control over how our day will go. And the best part of it all is that we get to do the routine for "US" just "US" and not for anyone else's approval. Skin care routines don't have to be complicated or lengthy. If you are looking to understand more on skincare routines or create a routine for yourself and don't know where to start from we at Lake House are always ready to chat and share!!! (reach us at lakehouseug@gmail.com)