image credit: Custom Gourmet Herb & Spice Kit from CraigsMarket 

Our last #OMHG chat was a whirlwind of spicy self-care goodness co-hosted by Nicole of ThreeBySea & prompted by her SPICES post. We shared our answers to 6 big questions and packed our hour with inspiration to help spice up our love affairs…with ourselves.

Question #1: How do you care for yourself socially?

• UnurthWonder I carve out time to see people that I love and am inspired by. A coffee or a hike with a good friend does wonders!#omhg
• kittyscuriosity @ohmyhandmade Just been starting with social care. I do a weekly game day with friends to keep me on track, & a knitting circle. #omhg
• PatternedApp I’m working on some “kindness bombs” for far away peeps – something special in the mail. Let them know I care even when don’t say #omhg
• @curiouslt: @ohmyhandmade my biggest de-stresser is the dog park – I love to take Pixel there. Nothing like dogs playing! #omhg
• @IAMTHELAB: Socially: I surround myself with people who are honest, supportive and creative. They move me to give … #omhg
• ohmyhandmade I’m the most social anti-social person ever! I balance my dual nature by giving myself time to expand & contract #omhg
• @IAMTHELAB: So many artists are introverted. Your art is your conversation. We hear you! #omhg

Question #2: How do you care for yourself physically?

• DancingMooney @ohmyhandmade go for a walk, take a hot bath, read a book, make tea! #omhg
• MarisaEdghill Healthy homemade food, long walks, listening to my body. RT @ohmyhandmade: How do you care for yourself physically?#omhg
• @ThreeBySea: PHYSICAL care: Imprompu dance parties w/ kiddo, eating healthy stuff, yoga…#omhg
• thelanguidlion Pilates, dog walks (2x a day), eat healthy (grow our own veg), laugh a lot, stimulate my brain & de-stress on a regular basis! #omhg
• IAMTHELAB @thelanguidlion @kittyscuriosity #omhg You have to have downtime. It’s so essential for a good mind/body.

***a lot of listening to your body ***and food, we all got distracted by the food we all love, including mango key lime pie, fresh bread and, of course, chocolate!  Funny, no one mentioned cupcakes 😉

Question #3: How do you care for yourself intellectually?

• PatternedApp @Lu_and_Ed I’ve started listening to books on tape on the treadmill. It helps, esp if you can’t get outside #omhg
• cubicle57blog intellectually I HAVE to put down the twitter and devices and read a book with pages. it forces my brain to focus. no skimming#omhg
• kittyscuriosity @ohmyhandmade We watch a lot of TED type videos, and take free online college courses through Coursera. Love intellectual challenges. #omhg

***LOTS of reading***

• ThreeBySea OK, INTELLECTUAL- Talking to grown ups about anything other than our kids, getting back to blogging & work, reading, etc.#omhg
• curiouslt @ohmyhandmade – crosswords, reading tutorials for my field.#omhg
• @miss_modish: meditation is my fave mind clearer! + actively seeking out & learning new things helps keep my busy brain happy #omhg
• @kathystowell: Watching low-brow movies helps me feel more intellectual anyway. Plus it gives my massive brains a rest! #omhg
• IAMTHELAB @RocajoStudio #omhg I’ve always wanted to learn calligraphy. My project is learning French. Always wanted to, now doing it.

Question #4: How do you care for yourself creatively?

• laalicia #omhg I’m taking a paper marbeling class this weekend! Can’t wait!
• MarisaEdghill Trying new things, collecting inspiration, getting my hands dirty. RT @ohmyhandmade: How do you care for yourself creatively? #omhg
• @pigandfish: Self-care? Take time to play!#omhg
• kathystowell I try to look at the mundane as a creative endevour. ie slim pickings in the fridge; what kind of feast can I whip up? #omhg
• @curiouslt: thats easy for me, everything feeds me creatively – great books, movies, music, art – I consume it all! #omhg
• @RocajoStudio Also reading creative blogs makes me want to create something myself. Usually too many projects on my list 🙂 #omhg
• ohmyhandmade Amen! RT @IAMTHELAB: It cant be said enough: you cant care for others without self-care. Altruism comes best when we self-care. #omhg
• ThreeBySea I think CREATIVE of as an approach to life. #omhg

Question #5: How do you care for yourself emotionally?

• pigandfish Emotional self-care? Recognize the stream of data & allow. Drop the mind into no-thinking and into BEing. #omhg
• IAMTHELAB @ohmyhandmade #omhg Biggest struggle. Dealing with some childhood trauma still. Must always work to keep a healthy view of self.
• ohmyhandmade Emotional self-care: naming my feeling as I have them-for good or bad, trying to balance my darkness with brightness & loving & joy #omhg
• ThreeBySea EMOTIONAL self care…this 1 I’m not as great at, hence the reason I ended up talking to a therapist, but I count that! #OMHG Also, meditate
• laalicia giving your brain a rest #omhg
• kathystowell Nice juicy cry once in a while ~ my new yoga! #omhg
• kittyscuriosity I’m also trying to identify negative thought patterns and rewrite them into supportive & positive ones. #omhg
• ThreeBySea I would venture to guess that EMOTIONAL is hard for a lot of us. #OMHG

Thank goodness we all have this wonderful community to feel safe enough to share and regroup, eh?!

Question #6: How do you care for yourself spiritually?

• storyofmum Spiritual self care: Being outside and being quiet #omhg@ohmyhandmade
• kittyscuriosity Spiritually: Connection to a larger idea/thing — whether nature, others’ creativity, or just good times with good people. #omhg
• @stephdouglas: Im working on remembering the feeling of magic and mystery. Those were always my connection to the spiritual. #omhg
• ThreeBySea I think remembering how interconnected everything is always brings me to center #OMHG
• thelanguidlion By recognizing that I’m an important & beautiful speck of dust in this vast, inexplicable & wondrous universe!@ohmyhandmade #omhg
• MarisaEdghill For me there is nothing more spiritual than the feeling of sitting around a fire on a clear night with kindred souls. Silence, stars.#omhg
• pigandfish Spiritual self-care? It’s the basic fabric of who we all are – taking short moments throughout the day to re-member. #omhg
• storyofmum Another big thing for me is feeling gratitude – projects like the receiving project (@joannarothman) helped connect me to bigger world #omhg

You can read the full chat transcript right here.

What is #omhg? We are a community of talented, creative and caring people who visit every Thursday on Twitter from 1-2EST with the hashtag #omhg to chat about our monthly theme on Oh My! Handmade + life, business & everything in between. Empowering, honest, supportive & full of ideas, our chats leave us all feeling ready to take on the world-come join us and make some new friends!