Basic Needs For Self-Care During Intense Stress

These are challenging times in the world, even over a year after our initial lock-down. If you didn’t spend 2020 practicing self-care, start now with the basics.

Spending weeks frozen inside a fast-spinning hamster wheel is downright exhausting — on the mind, body, and spirit. In the first three months of this new year, I experienced more loss than I ever imagined I’d face and all in one fell swoop on the same day.

These events and the collection of grief, disbelief, and lack of understanding next steps caused me to lose twenty pounds faster than I could imagine, taught my body how to live on two hours of sleep each night because I couldn’t shut down despite my begging, and shifted a genuine upheaval of my life’s goals and how to reach them with no foundation and shaky ground below me. Even worse, I’m not alone. Here’s what I’ve learned.

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs taught us exactly how to get through these incredibly intense moments and move forward at the right pace for our overall well-being by providing ourselves with the most basic of needs to begin to survive before we thrive again. His research shows us, as humans, we need four basic needs met to be well-rounded, safe, secure, optimistic, good humans. To give to others, including those we love most, we need to have these needs met: Physiological, Safety, Love & Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization.

Physiological needs come first, especially when assessing crisis.
When our personal or professional worlds implode, our bodies speak to us and show us how not to shut down completely.
Depending on the crisis at hand, physiological needs may be the exact cause of crisis, losing a home, for example, or losing the income that provides food and clean water to ourselves and our families.

Covering basic needs is the first place to start: Air, Water, Food, Shelter, Sleep, Clothing, Reproduction
Crisis Tip: Even as life unfolds before us, our bodies require these things to survive. This is basic survival, and many in crisis fall into a survival mode quickly. Reproduction is a basic need for humanity because, without it, our species will disappear. However, it is not necessary to get to the next moment.

As we navigate the waters of individual crisis, air is often the easiest to acquire. Remember to utilize it well.

· Breathe — deep breaths throughout the day or tense situations, in through the nose, slowly out through the mouth.

· Meditate — using the nose & mouth inhale/exhale technique, take several moments to center and ground the mind, body, and spirit. Breathe, close your eyes, and focus on each breath as if you are a separate entity and are having a calm conversation together.

· Get Outside — even if only for fifteen minutes, get out and away from stressors and recycled indoor air. Take in fresh air and sunshine. This is not a time for hardcore exercise. Stroll around the block or sit in a chair with a favorite beverage… or just water because hydration matters.

Water is crucial, and a dehydrated system poses additional problems outside of the moments of crisis. This isn’t the time to be picky or sugar or calorie super-conscious. Add some flavor if you need to drink more. Mix sports drinks or pediatric electrolyte drinks into your water to ensure you consume what your body needs. Added flavor is a bonus, and you deserve it.

Food in crisis, especially if the situation isn’t a sudden lack of food, can quickly become one we don’t even realize we are missing. Days could go by sipping watered-down sports drinks but not consuming any sustenance by way of food. If eating is difficult, try to focus on bites of lean proteins and vegetables. A piece of fruit could add sugar to your body while boosting your energy for a short time and allow focus and clarity. Remember healthy, whole foods are brain fuel, and if you plan to get through these most cumbersome moments, your brain will need to be fueled well.
This is not the time for snacks, junk, or processed foods. If eating is difficult, try to stay with fresh, whole foods like fruits, vegetables, small bites of cheese and nuts, and a lean protein if you can stomach it.

On the other hand, some overeat in crisis instead of forgetting to eat. The same rules apply, and because food is one of our bodies’ most basic needs, our brains could very well trick us into thinking we are in crisis and must consume as much food as possible or that foods will help us feel better — until they don’t. So, whether eating is hard or way too easy in troubling times, try to stick with fresh whole foods in small portions throughout the day. This way, your body and decision-making brain will be ready to act for next steps.

Shelter and Sleep go hand in hand for many in our modern world. We sleep where we shelter, and if losing shelter is our crisis, sleep becomes near impossible because our next tier, safety, is at risk.
In crisis not shelter-related, remember to take pause and reflect on what is working. If there is a roof over your head, allow yourself to relish in it for a bit. But be careful not to compare to others. Just because you may have a roof over your head and others do not doesn’t mean your situation shouldn’t count and you cannot feel the way you feel. Be careful not to fall into a comparison trap. You are where you are.

Clothing is a basic necessity of modern times, and as mentioned earlier, Reproduction is a result of surviving time with intact humanity.

Try not to fall into a cycle of spending to ease the pain. Window shopping could be a distraction from negative thoughts, and it could also give you the time to move your body, take in some fresh air, and ponder the solutions at hand or paths to take to move up to the next level of well-being: Safety.

No matter the current hardship, don’t forget to buckle down and care for your basic necessities first. This may mean stepping back from other things to ensure your physiological needs in check. Once you’re well versed in these basic needs, you’ll begin to find the ability to assess your next steps.

Never fear living inside the vulnerable.
Be well.
~Stella