Valentine’s Day can be a day full of love and affection between partners who have been together as long as a week to their entire lives. But what if all those hearts, flowers and chocolates just isn’t your style? Maybe you’re single and have no interest in the holiday as a whole. How do you find joy in a day that’s set aside seemingly just for couples? Well, instead of celebrating your love for another, why not celebrate your love for yourself!
Self love is an important aspect of celebrating oneself and the enjoyment that you can find in solo activities or just embracing the little self care techniques you can implement throughout the day. It’s easy to confuse self love with big extravagant things like treating yourself to a nice dinner and spending a little extra cash or buying that new item you’ve been eyeing for a while. But it doesn’t always need to be so extreme or pricey! In fact, here are some ways to show intense self care and love, regardless of your gender, without spending much money at all!
Show Your Body Some Love
When was the last time you truly gave your body the best attention you could give it? Maybe you’ve been lacking in your skincare routine or haven’t given yourself a good shave in a while. Now is the perfect time to run a warm bath with that new bath bomb you got on sale or some relaxing epsom salt to ease your muscles. A little bit of relaxing scented candles or essential oils will give you the much needed rest and relaxation you’ve needed for quite some time! If a bath or shower isn’t your style, take some time to thoroughly wash your face, maybe use a face mask or some moisturizer on your body where you might feel like your skin is getting pretty dry and cracked. Little things like this that maybe you don’t think of every day can help make your body feel fresh and rejuvenated if you’ve neglected it for too long.
Have a Little “Me” Time
Has stress been building up in work and life? Maybe the little bit of time you do have is spent just trying to take the edge off and relax after a long day. It’s time to put your pleasure first! Take some time to really express yourself with bodily pleasure and explore the things that make you feel good. There is evidence that not only will masturbation and other self pleasure techniques help you relax, but self exploration has been linked to better sexual satisfaction as a whole, even with future partners! Use this time to find out what feels good to you and discover new things that you might want to continue doing in the future!
Discover your Love Language
Love languages are often something that is only explored in relationships, but how can they benefit you and your own self love? The 5 different categories are Quality Time, Acts of Service, Physical Touch, Giving/Receiving Gifts, and Words of Affirmation. Quality time can be as simple as setting up a regular time to just relax and do things that make you feel most comfortable. Acts of service can be anything regarding therapeutic work that helps you find ease at home. Maybe you let your dishes pile up or your room is a mess. A little clean up can help bring better peace of mind down the line. Physical touch doesn’t always need to be another person, but maybe your coziest blanket and a warm cup of tea. These warm sensations could bring a more soothing aspect that will help you relax, like a warm shower. Maybe it's time to treat yourself to something in your Wishlist that you have been saving up for, give yourself a little gift. And positive affirmations can always be a rewarding thing to hear. Whether you just feel like you’re really rocking that new hairstyle or just feel like everything is going well. It’s a great time to pat yourself on the back and remind yourself that you are doing great!
Check out the quiz to discover your love language here: https://www.5lovelanguages.com
Give Yourself a Break
One thing that many of us can probably agree with is there is not nearly enough time in the day. It’s important that we take care of our responsibilities, but we can’t neglect the mental, physical and emotional toll it can take on us. Take some time to recuperate in the way that you see fit. Maybe it’s by taking the kind of nap that you fall asleep from and wake up wondering what day it is. Maybe it’s putting on your favorite tunes and doodling like you did when you were a kid. Maybe it’s pouring yourself a nice beverage of your choice before settling in with a good book or show you’ve been dying to catch up on. These little breaks help in more ways than one and can help rejuvenate you in ways you haven’t been able to experience for a while with your busy lifestyle. It’s always good to take a break, I recommend one around once every 1-2 weeks!