The hottest Self-care Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Health & Wellness Topics

Can Humor Heal?

Are You Okay? • 479 implied HN points • 08 May 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Laughter and positivity can have a significant impact on physical and mental health, boosting the immune system, reducing stress, and improving cardiovascular health.
  2. Accept that life can be serious and challenging, but incorporating humor into it can make tough times easier to navigate and lead us to other joys.
  3. Make room for intentional laughter in daily life through activities like watching funny movies, reading jokes, and practicing laughter yoga; finding humor in everyday situations can bring joy and connect us with others.

Toxic Places, Toxic Leaders (Burnout Part 3)

Notes in the Margins • 59 implied HN points • 17 Jun 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Toxic workplaces and poor leadership significantly contribute to burnout and harm mental health of employees.
  2. Toxic leadership leads to increased stress, decreased motivation, emotional exhaustion, and high turnover rates among employees.
  3. Practical solutions for dealing with difficult managers include setting boundaries, seeking support, documenting interactions, focusing on self-care, investing in professional development, and considering external help.

Why do people drink alcohol?

The Joyous Struggle • 434 implied HN points • 30 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. People drink alcohol to reduce associations in their minds, helping them live in the present and elevate mood by weakening neural connections.
  2. Alcohol can facilitate an escape from self-consciousness, leading to unmediated connections with others, but it may also cause cognitive narrowing and self-centeredness.
  3. Drinking alcohol is intertwined with breaking taboos, often influenced by cultural perceptions, and can offer a glimpse of unity and transcendence, providing a shared spiritual experience.
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Dog vs Void

Fragmentary • 412 implied HN points • 13 Feb 23
🎭️ Culture Self-care
  1. The author got a dog named Blue in 2021, who has an existential attitude.
  2. The Hindi adaptation of The Night Manager is a significant first in international book adaptations.
  3. The author shared thoughts on Twitter and emphasized the importance of self-care.

Surfing without waves

Trying In Public • 159 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Feeling uninspired is normal; don't be too hard on yourself.
  2. Discipline is crucial for creative work; sometimes you need to push through even when it's tough.
  3. Sometimes, unexpected challenges arise, and it's essential to find alternative ways to stay productive.

Story Thirty-Five

Stories From The Rail • 379 implied HN points • 21 Oct 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Sometimes even simple words can be hard to recall, especially for someone with brain injury. This can be frustrating and challenging.
  2. Living with a disability can be terrifying and isolating, impacting personal relationships and daily interactions in unexpected ways.
  3. Support and understanding from loved ones, mentors, and communities are crucial for individuals dealing with disabilities. Honoring their struggles and experiences is important for building empathy.

A Wisdom Moment

Less Foolish • 393 implied HN points • 15 Jun 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Engaging in embodiment practices can increase empathic capacities and lead to insightful experiences.
  2. Being present in your body allows for making conscious choices in tense or challenging situations.
  3. Collecting wisdom moments through daily practices like journalling can help in personal growth and self-reflection.

The Triangle of Happiness

Seven Senses • 319 implied HN points • 18 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. The 'triangle of happiness' is a term used to describe a meditation focus area between the nostrils and upper lip. It helps calm the mind and brings awareness to the breath.
  2. Vipassana meditation retreats are dedicated to learning this practice over ten days of silence, allowing participants to truly experience mindfulness.
  3. Meditation can be tough, but with practice, it helps tame racing thoughts and brings a sense of peace and balance to life.

Tools for Life™️

box. • 399 implied HN points • 20 Sep 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Taking care of your body with exercise, sleep, and good food can really help you manage your feelings and energy levels. It's important to make time for these basic needs.
  2. Having supportive friends or accountability buddies can make a huge difference when you're feeling anxious or overwhelmed. Teaming up with others helps you feel less alone.
  3. Doing things that bring you pure joy, without any pressure to be productive, can help reduce anxiety and stress. It's okay to take breaks and have fun just for the sake of it.

Permission to burn.

Neckar’s Notes • 144 implied HN points • 14 Aug 25
🎭️ Culture Self-care
  1. Emotions are not bad; they are messengers that tell us something is going on inside us. It's okay to feel and express them.
  2. When we resist our feelings, it can cause more pain than the emotions themselves. Learning to sit with them can help us heal.
  3. Being in a quiet place can bring up our internal struggles. Sometimes, it's confronting, but it can also lead to important self-discovery.

A gratitude zine

Austin Kleon • 2358 implied HN points • 23 Nov 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Gratitude can take time and practice to feel, especially during tough times. It's important to actively work on being thankful.
  2. Keeping a gratitude diary can help by starting each sentence with 'I have...' to focus on positive experiences in life.
  3. Thinking about gratitude as a gift rather than a debt fosters healthier relationships and helps us appreciate what we have.

When You Finally See Yourself Clearly

The Reclamation Era • 159 implied HN points • 26 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Understanding ADHD can lead to a big sense of clarity about oneself. Realizing how it affects life helps to make sense of past struggles.
  2. Being open about one's experiences with ADHD can feel overwhelming but is often met with appreciation from others. It’s important to share personal truths without worrying too much about others' opinions.
  3. Learning to embrace neurodiversity helps create more self-compassion. With better tools and understanding, it’s easier to live life fully and acknowledge one's unique thought patterns.

Lagging Behind

Venture Prose • 359 implied HN points • 30 Apr 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Acknowledge when you're falling behind and need to clean house. Don't blame yourself too much; it happens. Adjust your schedule to find more time and space to get things done in the next few days.
  2. Prioritize tasks and schedule them for the upcoming week. Be careful not to spread them too thin. Start with the most critical things early in the morning to avoid carrying a mental backlog.
  3. Don't be afraid to say no, reschedule, or cancel commitments. Get back to handling emails and important messages promptly without overthinking. Be honest about your overwhelmed feelings.

Can Therapy Be Bad For You?

Are You Okay? • 339 implied HN points • 01 May 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Therapy may not work for everyone - some people may not see benefits from psychotherapy.
  2. Therapy effectiveness depends on willingness to challenge thoughts and behaviors, establish trust with the therapist, and be open to change.
  3. Acceptance, awareness, and taking agency are crucial in making therapy successful.

Breakup Diaries

Cathedral Effect • 334 implied HN points • 23 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Breakups can bring unexpected feelings and reactions.
  2. Getting over a breakup involves accepting the uncertainty and moving forward positively.
  3. Reflecting on past relationships can lead to gratitude and new perspectives.

A victim of the cult of optimization and productivity

Pinch of Dirt • 176 implied HN points • 27 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Questioning the need for constant productivity and optimization is important for self-reflection.
  2. Physical activities like running can be enjoyable and beneficial when connected to personal goals beyond changing body size.
  3. Consistent habits like yoga can be maintained through daily practice, but it's also important to allow for flexibility and rest.

Spreading Light in the World

We're Gonna Get Those Bastards • 7 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Stopping constant sarcasm and complaining and choosing a positive, uplifting attitude can genuinely improve your life, and you can be smart and funny without being mean.
  2. Make it a goal to lift other people up and help them be healthier, wealthier, wiser, and more joyful, but pair that attitude with real work and smart, sometimes ruthless actions.
  3. Facing fear and changing your mindset lets you grow — a big successful performance can banish nerves, and you can always choose how you respond to life and notice its small miracles.

finding my own time

spencer's paradoxes • 314 implied HN points • 11 May 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. It's important to find balance and not always focus on productivity.
  2. Embrace the concept of 'kairos' time for personal growth and transformation.
  3. Traveling as a tourist doesn't automatically mean operating in 'kairos'; be present and follow your instincts.

The tough reality of being a "glue person"...

The Beautiful Mess • 595 implied HN points • 18 Oct 24
💼 Business Self-care
  1. Being a glue person means your achievements are often overlooked, but your mistakes are very visible to others.
  2. You have to balance many expectations, which can be stressful and sometimes put you in difficult positions.
  3. It’s important to recognize your own successes, set boundaries, and take care of yourself to avoid burnout.

You’re Not Broken. You’re Just Carrying Too Much.

Ben’s Blog 🏉 🧠🧑‍💻 • 10 implied HN points • 19 Jan 26
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. The phrase "mental health" started in medical and institutional settings and still sounds clinical, which can make normal stress feel like a personal defect.
  2. Most everyday struggles like anxiety, burnout, and overwhelm are often signs of nervous system overload, and reframing them that way points to practical actions like more rest, routine, movement, and connection.
  3. Seeing strain as too much load rather than being broken reduces shame and helps people—especially men—ask for support and use skills to prevent crisis earlier.

Where Did The Chill Girl Go

NOW IS GOOD • 294 implied HN points • 23 Mar 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Turning 30 can come with unexpected emotions and self-reflection.
  2. It's okay to not maintain a chill facade all the time, especially during important milestones.
  3. Self-discovery and self-respect grow over time, leading to a deeper understanding and acceptance of oneself.

Duff Love

Ladyparts • 399 implied HN points • 12 Apr 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Karen Duffy finds strength, comfort, gratitude, and love in the wisdom of the Stoics despite battling chronic pain
  2. Karen Duffy, also known as 'Duff', is described as one of the strongest, most resilient, and funny women by the author
  3. For those who grew up in the MTV era, Karen Duffy was considered the cool, it girl and a muse

The Case Against Caffeine

Insight Axis • 149 HN points • 28 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Quitting caffeine can lead to increased productivity and efficiency in tasks.
  2. Reducing caffeine intake can decrease feelings of anxiety and improve quality of sleep.
  3. Understanding individual differences in response to caffeine is key, as it can impact sleep patterns and productivity differently for each person.

What Can Our Pelvic Floor Teach us About Motherhood?

Are You Okay? • 279 implied HN points • 15 May 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Strengthening our 'core' goes beyond a flat tummy; it involves building strength in deep pelvic muscles.
  2. Pelvic floor muscles help control waste elimination; squeezing narrows passages, relaxing widens them.
  3. Approximately 1 in 3 women experience pelvic floor dysfunction, and various exercises and therapies can help strengthen these muscles.

Walk With Your Wife in the Morning

Less Foolish • 275 implied HN points • 23 Jun 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Start your day by walking with your spouse, discussing emotional well-being, daily intentions, and gratitude.
  2. Describe your desired future as if it's happening now to emotionally connect to your life goals.
  3. Experiment with couple practices to find connection and coordination in your relationship.

WHY DON’T SHE WRITE?

Fully Alive @Work • 275 implied HN points • 24 Sep 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. The author is taking a break from writing on their Substack and suspending subscriptions indefinitely.
  2. The break is due to personal challenges such as a divorce, family issues, and a traumatic brain injury.
  3. Despite the hiatus, the author expresses gratitude for the support and hopes to return once they have clarity on their path forward.

Dividends

Sriram Krishnan’s Newsletter • 275 implied HN points • 15 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care
  1. Memory Dividends are the benefits you gain from re-experiencing past experiences in the future.
  2. Anticipation Dividends are the benefits you receive from looking forward to future experiences.
  3. Prioritizing experiences and memories can lead to both Memory and Anticipation Dividends.