1.) Therapy is good. Go to therapy.

2.) Talking about therapy is also good.

3.) Take your medication. TAKE. YOUR. MEDICATION.

4.) Unplug. Seriously, take your phone, turn it off, and put it in another room where you can’t see it. If people freak out that you’re not responding to their texts 5 minutes after you get them, they’ll live.

5.) Take breaks from politics. There’s a big difference between completely disengaging and just taking a breather. You need time to recharge and step away from the negativity that gets really really overwhelming.

6.) Take a social media cleanse. Seriously, don’t log on. AT ALL.

7.) Cut back a little on stuff to give yourself time to breathe.

8.) Do something fun. And not like going to a protest fun or watching an interesting social justice documentary fun. Do something that is completely for you and no one else. Hang out with friends. Walk in the park, etc.

9.) Focus on what you can do and not on what you should do. You do not have to save the world, or advocate for every issue ever. Your best is good enough.

10.) Exercise. Releasing endorphins just makes life better.

11.) Practice mindfulness. And I don’t mean meditate for 3 hours a day. I mean taking deep breaths when you start to get anxious, interrupting yourself when in a negative thought spiral, journaling, and just in general checking in to remind yourself that you are present and you matter.

12.) Cut any toxic people out. People who you give everything and get nothing back from. People who make you feel like you’re not enough. People who make you unhappy. Cut them off. They don’t deserve your time. Don’t be afraid of being and do what you need to do. You do not need to fix anybody.

Remember that self care isn’t just bath bombs and lavender aromatherapy, and that everybody needs it. No matter how much our society likes to devalue this process, if we can’t care for ourselves, there is no way that we can possibly care for anyone or everyone else.