Relax and Recharge

When it comes to your mental health, self care should be a top priority. Self care, whether mental or physical, has an overall effect on our bodies of reducing stress and clearing the mind. Focusing on yourself through self care helps to relax and reset; a great way to do this is to have a stay-at-home vacation, or “staycation”. 

When talking about staycations, it is important to realize that your at-home getaway does not need to be luxurious or expensive. In fact, I find that I am the most relaxed by simply breaking my usual routine to focus on smaller aspects of my life. Here are a few of the benefits of staycations over vacations: 

1. Minimize Travel - Staycations don’t require early morning flights or long car rides. Minimizing travel is important to protecting your safety, especially during the 100 deadliest days (Memorial Day—Labor Day). By staying at home, you protect yourself from dangers that could occur while on busy highways or in unknown areas. 

2. Focus on you - It is easy to get overwhelmed and stressed out with day-to-day life. Staycations are a great way to shift your focus from work to other areas of your life that may have been neglected. Focusing on yourself helps us to grow as people and reconnect to the things and people we love. 

3. Practice Gratitude - While vacations are great, staycations teach you to appreciate what you have. While staying home you might rediscover your love for a particular hobby, or notice the beauty of your town. Staycations help you slow down from your usual life to stop and smell the roses. 

4. Save money - When choosing a staycation, you save money that otherwise would be spent on traveling. This money in turn can be used to support local businesses, discover new hobbies, or could be saved for future endeavors. 

Now that we have established why staycations can be better than vacations, let’s brainstorm a few healthy activities you can do while staying local in your city or better yet, in the comfort of your own home: 

1. Hobbies - When was the last time you did that thing that you really liked? Has there been something you’ve always wanted to try but never had the time? Now is the chance to explore or rediscover your favorite activities! Whether that be painting, baking, watching shows you like, or cleaning your house, there are many hobbies that can be explored in your free time. 

2. Be Outside - Staying busy with work or daily tasks often prevents us from enjoying the outdoors. Take this staycation as a chance to reconnect with nature. For example, you could go on a hike, bike on a path you’ve never been on, or visit a local park. 

3. Reconnect With Friends & Family - This new found free time that you have can be a great way to get back in touch with those you don’t speak with often. Reconnecting with old friends or family members can help you realize all the love that you have in your life. Send that text, or call that person: they will surely appreciate this kind gesture. 

4. Be a Tourist - Busy schedules and daily routines don’t leave much time for exploring your hometown. Staycations are a great opportunity to “play tourist" in your own city. Visit a u-pick farm, eat at a family owned restaurant with a friend, or try out a new yoga studio. Brainstorming staycation ideas can be as simple as opening a map and seeing what’s within driving distance. 

While all of what we have mentioned so far is important to plan your perfect staycation, I would say the most crucial step to truly enjoying your time is to avoid comparisons to others. We have all fallen victim to comparing various attributes or unrealistic lifestyles to what is portrayed on social media. However, these comparisons hurt our own self image and prevent us from being grateful for what we have. Even though some people may be happiest when traveling extensively, you can be equally content by staying at home and focusing on yourself. Staycations are a great way to focus on relaxing and reconnecting with yourself and with your loved ones. By practicing gratitude, you can learn to be very happy with what you have!

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Looking for a way to turn your summer hobby or volunteering into a PVSA award? Check out the virtual volunteering toolkit and application requirements at sadd.org/pvsa.