In our society, there is a belief that we have to be busy to be productive, and if you aren’t doing anything, you are lazy. Living a busy lifestyle can increase our stress and decrease happiness. The acronym SPA BEAR provides principles to live by that encourage slowing down and feeling content.

Each letter in the first part of the acronym, SPA, stands for something to incorporate daily to increase self-care and fulfillment.

• S stands for social activity: try to engage with people everyday. This could look like chatting with the baristas at your coffee shop, or even connecting with an old friend on Facebook. We are naturally wired to be in community with one another, so placing this practice as a daily priority will help keep us in balance.
• P stands for pleasurable activity: find something, big or small, that brings you joy each day. It could be simply admiring the way the sunshine hits the windows, or eating your favorite treat. Whatever it is, do something that brings you joy.
• A stands for accomplishment: work to accomplish one task, big or small, each day. It doesn’t have to be anything major like passing the SAT- it could be putting away clean laundry into the drawers. Sometimes, just the simple act of crossing off an item on your to-do list will make you feel better.

I challenge you to place self-care as a priority, and work towards putting these principles into practice this week.

You can find more information on this topic on the Adventures in Brain Injury Podcast, Episode 19.

Written by: Emily Ruggles