A Therapist’s Top Self-Care Activities in Charlotte, NC to boost your well-being
You know that taking care of yourself is important and you also well aware that the time to do that can be…hard to find. It’s truly a conundrum! Good news, if you’re in Charlotte, NC there are plenty of activities and resources to support your mental health journey. As a therapist I’m a big advocate for adding in care to your routine in doable ways. To that end, I want to share with you my favorite self-care activities to support your well-being in Charlotte, NC. Getting out into the community, allowing yourself to receive care and nourishment in small, tangible ways is so, so important to helping you and your nervous system slow down and heal and thrive.
I specialize in working with folks who have stories of trauma and one of the biggest impacts of that is that it can create a sense of hypervigilance within you. This more or less means that you are always on, but a kind of on that feels exhausting and hard to turn off. The journey towards healing isn’t to get rid of those parts (they helped you survive!), but instead strengthen the parts of you that can really sense into feelings and sensations of safety. It’s important to share spaces in Charlotte, NC that promote slowness, spaciousness, and care so that you can invite yourself and your body to more moments of easefulness and groundedness.
Before I share my favorite self-care and wellness activities in Charlotte, North Carolina I want to note that I know that getting your nails done is not going to heal you overnight, just like going to one therapy session isn’t going to be enough to help you through a challenging time. The more important task at hand is inviting you into a nourishing relationship with yourself, with your inner child, and with the people in your life and community at large where you can be most yourself. This means that your stories, your emotions, and your body get care.
There are a few invitations to consider as you engage in some of these self-care activities that I want to share with you:
The timing of these activities is important. As I often talk to folks I work with both in my therapy office in Charlotte, NC and virtually, self-care is not a replacement for doing the hard work of showing up to therapy, having hard conversations, or setting boundaries.
Look at self-care activities as the things you to that support you and keep you going on your healing journey.
One suggestion is to plan your self-care activities after you do the thing that is anxiety inducing and requires you being brave. Maybe it’s after you go to your first therapy session or maybe it’s after you do EMDR in therapy…By being mindful to offer yourself care after the hard thing, you signal to your brain and nervous system that one, you will get through whatever it is you’re about to do and two that safety and care are available to you. While I know that you can’t book a massage after every hard conversation (I wishhhh!!!) you can do simple things like setting out your favorite, softest pair of pajamas on your bed for you to change into when you get home. I like to think about this as not just offering yourself care in the present moment, but care for your future self as well.
Consider not using your phone while you’re getting a wellness treatment done. Maybe you bring a fiction book or maybe you let yourself close your eyes and enjoy the sensations of the breeze or sunshine on your face if you’re on a walk.
Cultivating a wellness routine is something that does not need to happen in isolation. Community is a core tenet of self-care and well-being. The quality of your relationships has a huge effect on your mental-health and it’s something we focus on a lot in therapy. So maybe when you go to try out a new workout class at a studio in town you make an effort to strike up a conversation with someone in the class. Or if you’re planning a slow Sunday afternoon at the park or a walk on the greenway, you invite a friend to join you.
Now let’s get to it! Here are my favorite self-care activities in Charlotte, NC:
1. A slow afternoon at Freedom Park
Nestled in the heart of the city, Freedom Park is a beautiful space that serves as a wonderful third space for the Charlotte community. Don’t know what a third space is? I’m so excited I get to share this with you…a third space is a space in public that’s neither work nor home where you can spend time with people and connect with your community. Bring a big blanket and post up under a big oak tree overlooking the lake. Take a stroll and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and great people watching! It’s a great place to bring your family too. I find that Mother Nature helps fussiness and grumpy moods like no other.
2. A massage at Mood House
Having moved back to Charlotte this spring, I was thrilled to find out about Mood House. For starters, it’s a female owned small business and supporting local businesses, especially female owned ones is a huge value of mine. As I mentioned earlier, self-care is about community involvement as well and allowing yourself to be bolstered by folks who care deeply about your well-being is win-win in our books. Mood House is beautiful and truly feels like you get to step out of the chaos and frenetic pace of life and really slow down. I love that the membership is a core tenet of their business. To quote Cristina, the owner and founder, “In my past, I’ve struggled to carve out one hour each month to escape, relax, and recharge…The truth is that I’m less effective - as a businesswoman, as a leader, as a parent - if I don’t create time for myself.” With locations in Dilworth and a newly opened location in Oakhurst and evening and weekend availability, they make it quite easy to allow yourself to be supported and cared for.
Additionally, as a somatic therapist, we work a lot with your body and the sensations that show up there to let you know about the story your body is telling. By working with tiny amounts of activation, we are able to allow trauma to release from being stuck in your body. Massage therapy is another way to support your continued healing and can be helpful as it allows you to experience more embodiment with yourself.
3. Visit an art gallery
When you are having a tough mental-health day or season, when you’re feeling stuck or blah, or just not great about the season of life you are in, it’s easy to want to isolate and stay in.
Or maybe you’ve just moved to Charlotte, NC and you are still in that leaner friendship season where you want to spend time with friends but those friends just haven’t been made yet.
Getting yourself out of the house and into inspiring places can be so helpful and really bolster your mental-health and well-being. I find that when I’m surrounded by creativity and beauty and thoughtfulness, even though my circumstances haven’t changed, I feel more comfortable and more hopeful inside. The great news is that the Charlotte artist community is robust and we have options all over town to be inspired.
Anne Neilson Fine Art | Shain Gallery
I try to pop into these galleries frequently because there are always big paintings that are bright, hopeful, and so, so beautiful. My body always feels like it’s taken a big exhale and I usually get good ideas after spending quiet time appreciating beauty.
Maybe you met a new friend at a workout class and want to do something other than just going out and getting a drink. Charlotte has so many gallery and art crawls all over the city. South End has a First Friday Gallery Crawl, Plaza Midwood does as well as NoDa.
4. Get your nails done at Freecoat
Again, I am rolling my eyes at myself because your well-being is about so much more than having pretty nails, but here me out!
Often getting a pedicure or manicure can be more affordable than a full blown massage.
Not only that, sometimes for folks with trauma histories, getting a massage can feel unsafe and too much and just having someone touch your hands or feet can feel safer and more tolerable.
Also a lot of folks who struggle with anxious nail biting and pulling, have found that having their nails done helps them not engage in that behavior and find gentler coping mechanisms.
My favorite spot that I was so excited to stumble across is Freecoat nails on Selwyn. It’s a toxic-free and fume-free beauty bar and let me tell you, it was so nice to walk in and be greeted by this pleasant and clean peppermint scent as opposed to the usual fumes of most nail spots. I don’t know about you, but the more work I do on caring for my body and nervous system, the more sensitive I become to intense scents and fumes. I love having spaces to go to care for myself that are gentle and safe.
5. Visit your favorite local coffee shop
Can I tell you my favorite thing to do when a client reschedules and I have a free hour before I get back to work? I pop into my favorite local coffee shop, Not Just Coffee or Undercurrent and I order a hot oat milk latte and hole up to read or journal. I always travel with a book in my bag so I can be prepared. It’s important to remember that you need to work in breaks and times where your mind gets to wander and play. It’s easy to have a meeting get rescheduled and immediately think, “Oh I can use this time to run to the store or get these 3 things on my to-do list done…” and sometimes that’s absolutely the right thing to do, but other times the best and kindest thing is to take a break, take a breath, and slow down. Maybe it’s later in the afternoon so you get your favorite tea and mindfully drink it and read some Mary Oliver poetry. A huge part of somatic therapy is increasing your tolerance for pleasure and safety in small bite sized chunks. By giving yourself 20 or 30 minutes to unplug, enjoy a warm or cold beverage, and fill your mind with beautiful words, you are signaling to yourself and your nervous system that safety, goodness, and pleasure are available to you. Also, don’t have a favorite coffee shop? New challenge unlocked…every Saturday morning, go visit a new one and see which one gives you your goldilocks “just right” experience!
Below are a few of my tried and true favorites with ample seating, quiet nooks, and kind baristas:
6. Try a workout class at The Coterie.
Movement that is rooted in kindness, strength, and attunement is often an important part of your healing and wellness journey. For a lot of folks who come to therapy wanting to work on disordered eating and their body shame, some stories and patterns usually come up with exercising. So many of us know how to push, how to go hard, and how to be really intense, so much so that you end up pushing past limits, working out as a means to punish and shame your body, and end up getting injured. I find that going to studios like the Coterie that are already mindful of how hazardous diet culture can be and are mindful to curate an experience that is thoughtful, body inclusive, and free of diet culture language can really support you in getting back into a relationship with movement that is rooted in kindness and celebrates your strength.
You deserve care that is nourishing, supportive, and healing. As we often talk about in therapy, so much of the work happens in therapy outside of the therapy room. It’s about making those small changes in the moment…Maybe it’s choosing to spend time with safe friends and go on a walk together to share what’s really going on instead of isolating in bed…
Maybe it’s about showing up at your favorite coffee shop to finally start taking action and work on that creative project that’s stayed in your head for years…
Maybe it’s about choosing to do the slow yoga class to really be with your body instead of the super intense workouts.
If you are needing help creating a more kind and caring relationship to and with yourself, reach out to learn more about holistic psychotherapy and how it can help you. With in person therapy offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and online counseling available for folks in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, healing and care is available for you.