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Hi Greatist readers,

I’m excited that we’ve been able to tackle emotional, physical, and intellectual self-care, and this week is all about community-care, also known as social self-care.

We aren’t designed to do life alone which is why it’s important to be involved in our community. Whether it is volunteering in your neighborhood, building a network, or growing your social support, community-care plays a vital role in elevating our mental health because we are all wired to be in connection with one another. Connections foster the feelings of love, empathy, and acceptance, which are essential for sustaining our well-being.

These last few months however, have been hard on some folks when it comes to engaging in community, and with Native American Heritage Day last week, it might be hard for folks who had to figure out how to gather in community with friends and family while trying to maintain social distancing or even respecting people’s boundaries or having no face-to-face interactions at all.

Instead of giving you something to reflect on, I’m sharing some practices for you to consider engaging in this week to build community. If you felt like you missed out last week, there’s still plenty of opportunity now and throughout December.

And they don’t have to be big, epic traditions. Engage and find beauty in simple, social self-care, like:

  1. Watch a movie with friends or family through Facetime or Zoom.
  2. Have a dinner party where you and your friends or family cook a dish together via Facetime or Zoom.
  3. Drop off a care package to someone with their favorite wellness items who lives close by to you and give them a wave from 6 feet apart.

And if these don’t work for you, be intentional and find something that does. Remember, self-care is all about learning yourself and what works for you!

Stay tuned as we end the month with our final self-care practice!

With love,
Minaa B.