Routine for Hygiene

Creating and maintaining routine in grief has been found to be effective in many matters, including boost in energy, better nutrition and care for your body, and creating comfort in an unpredictable time. This can be difficult, especially on the days that grief weighs heavy on your mind and body and getting out of bed feels like too much. Managing a hygiene routine can be incredibly beneficial in creating that routine to give you an overall boost.

Creating Routine

If you're in the deepest depths of grief, your normal routine might feel daunting to jump back into. The things that once brought you comfort may now be overwhelming or require more energy than you have left to give each day. It's perfectly okay to start small or create an entirely new hygiene routine that matches your current needs.

This might be as small as brushing your teeth or rinsing with mouthwash. Something that seems as simple as a 2 minute task can feel incredibly refreshing if you've gone a period of time without it.

Once you've conquered this first step for a few days, try adding another small step. This might rinsing or washing your face, applying lotion, or brushing/combing your hair.

After a few weeks of implementing more steps to your routine, you might find yourself gaining more energy or motivation to get into your routine.

Finding Joy in Hygiene Routine

Once you've conquered these huge steps of getting out of bed and doing the basics, you can eventually build up to finding comfort or joy in this hygiene routine. Things like taking a bath with a bath bomb and a candle, painting your nails or putting on makeup, or taking a hot shower with a shower steamer may be a place of solace and refuge on your darkest days. Taking vitamins, preparing balanced meals, washing laundry for fresh clothes, changing the bedsheets, and doing your hair can all be ways to add or change up your hygiene routine for a fresh start.

Creating this routine can allow you to include more self care into your normal day to day, and boost your overall feeling of wellbeing. Finding the piece that brings you the most peace or comfortable distraction can be a game changer in how you more forward in your day to day. The better we treat ourselves and our bodies, the better we feel. This rings true for how we talk to ourselves, the food and drinks we choose to put in our bodies, and the way we take care of it. These things can boost your self esteem, add energy to your sluggish days, and fuel you for the moments that weigh heavy.