21 Small Ways to Care for Yourself While Caring for Someone Else
A Gentle Self-Care Guide for Caregivers
When the days feel long and you’re exhausted from caring for someone else, it’s easy for you to forget that you matter too. But even a brief moment of doing something for you will make a world of difference for you and your loved one. I like to call these small acts of self-care “micro moments.” You can do these little acts of self-care in between the heavy tasks that come with caregiving. So let’s look at 21 ways to care for yourself while caring for someone else.
Ways to Care for Yourself While Caring for Someone Else
Caregiving is one of the most selfless things a person can do—and one of the most depleting. These aren’t grand gestures. They’re tiny acts of tenderness you can offer yourself between everything else.
Let’s look at 21 micro moments of self-care that you can do while caring for someone else.
1. Lower the bar.
Some days, enough really is enough.
You don’t have to be exceptional every single day. Let “good enough” be your gold standard today. The laundry can wait. The emails can wait. You showed up—and that’s already remarkable.
2. Micro-Rest.
30 seconds of stillness still counts as rest.
Close your eyes between tasks. Let your shoulders drop. Even the smallest pause sends a signal to your body that says, “I see you, and I’m not going to run you into the ground.”
3. Just breathe.
Pause… breathe… relax your body.
One slow inhale. One long exhale. That’s it. You just gave your nervous system a tiny vacation. Do it again if you want—no one’s counting.
4. Sit down.
Take the weight off for 30 seconds. You’re carrying a lot right now.
Literally and figuratively. Find a chair, a step, a patch of floor. Let gravity hold you for a moment instead of the other way around.
5. Drink a glass of water.
This small act of self-kindness will calm your nervous system.
You’ve been pouring into everyone else’s cup. Fill yours—literally. Cool water, slow sips. It’s the simplest way to tell your body, “I haven’t forgotten about you.”
6. Step outside.
2 minutes of sunshine will help you reset.
Feel the air change on your skin. Look at something farther away than four walls. The world is still out here, and it’s holding a little warmth for you.
7. Let something go.
Not everything needs to be done today.
Give yourself the radical permission to leave one thing undone. The to-do list will survive. The question is—will you, if you never stop?
8. Ask for help.
Just one time this week.
It doesn’t have to be dramatic. A text. A phone call. “Can you sit with them for twenty minutes?” Needing help doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re human.
9. Speak to yourself with kindness.
The work you’re doing is incredibly hard.
Replace “I should be doing more” with “I’m doing so much.” Talk to yourself the way you’d talk to someone you love—because you deserve that same voice.
10. Rest without earning it.
You don’t need permission to pause.
Rest is not a reward for productivity. It’s a requirement for survival. You are allowed to stop simply because you are tired.
11. Listen to music.
Turn up the volume and let your body remember joy.
Put on the song that makes you feel something—anything other than exhaustion. Dance in the kitchen, sway in the hallway, or just let the melody wash over you. Music reaches the parts of you that caregiving can’t touch.
12. Do a light stretch.
Your body is keeping score—give it a moment of grace.
Roll your neck. Reach for the ceiling. Twist gently and feel the places where you’ve been holding everything together. You don’t need a yoga mat or fifteen minutes. Just uncurl yourself, one tight muscle at a time.
13. Do a yoga pose.
One pose. That’s a whole practice.
Plant your feet, raise your arms, and breathe into a shape that isn’t hunched over someone else’s needs. Child’s pose on the bedroom floor counts. Warrior II in the hallway counts. Anything that says, “This body matters too.”
14. Read.
Disappear into someone else’s story for five minutes.
A page, a paragraph, a single beautiful sentence. Let your mind wander somewhere that isn’t a medication schedule or a list of worries. Your imagination has been starving—feed it something.
15. Meditate.
Be still and let the noise settle.
You don’t need an app or a mantra or perfect silence. Just sit. Notice the thoughts without chasing them. Let them drift past like clouds you’re too tired to name. Even two minutes of not-doing is a revolution.
16. Light a scented candle.
This is sensory comfort—and you deserve softness.
Strike the match. Watch the flame catch. Let the scent fill the room like a quiet apology for all the harshness you’ve been absorbing. Lavender, vanilla, cedarwood—whatever makes your shoulders inch away from your ears.
17. Say no to something.
One “no” can save you from a week of resentment.
You are not an unlimited resource. Decline the extra favor, the unnecessary errand, the obligation that would cost more than it gives. Every “no” to something else is a “yes” to yourself.
18. Eat a healthy snack.
Nourish the person doing all the nourishing.
Grab an apple, a handful of nuts, something with color and life in it. You’ve been running on caffeine and willpower—your body is asking for real fuel. Sit while you eat it. Taste it. You’re worth the extra minute.
19. Write three things you’re thankful for today.
Gratitude is a quiet rebellion against burnout.
It doesn’t have to be profound. “The coffee was hot. The sun came out. They smiled at me today.” Writing it down turns a fleeting feeling into something you can hold onto when the day gets heavy again.
20. Put on hand lotion.
Take time to enjoy the scent and feel.
Slow down for this one. Rub it into your palms, between your fingers, over knuckles that have been gripping too tightly. This is you, touching your own skin with tenderness. A small, deliberate reminder: these hands deserve care too.
21. Hum a soft mantra.
It may look silly, but everyone around me understands the intention.
I use a simple ‘so hum’ mantra that I learned from Deepak Chopra years ago. I put my thumbs and middle finger together on both hands and bend my arms at the elbow, holding my hands steady while humming. While doing this, I visualize my body calming down and resetting. I’m also fully aware of each breath while I do this.
You can’t pour from an empty cup—but you can fill yours one small sip at a time.
Be gentle with yourself today. You’re doing more than you know.
My favorite Micro-Moments as a Caregiver
I’ve helped take care of many people in my family over the years. There have been times when I can hardly stand up straight to do what needs to be done. But I have used almost all of these micro-moments of self-care at some point in my journeys.
My favorite and most useful micro-moments are:
- Breathe. I learned years ago when I was teaching Special Education to PAUSE… BREATHE… RELAX before I responded to a student who was misbehaving in class. I still use this micro-moment whenever I need to regain my composure or give my nervous system a reset.
- Micro-Rest. I always found it quite easy, even in the classroom, to give myself a reset by turning away for 30-seconds. Sometimes I would open a closet door and stare blankly into the close to take a 30-second break; other times, I would simply walk into another area of the room and close my eyes for 30-seconds while my body reset.
- Step Outside. I remember some beautiful, bright days when I was living with my 90-year old dad to care for him. I would simply step outside on his front porch for a few moments and take in the sunshine and fresh air. Those few minutes rejuvenated my soul more than I ever imagined.
- Humming a Soft Mantra. I’ve done this for so many years, and so much, that my friends and family know why I do it and they give me space. When I was teaching Special Education, I even taught this technique to my young students to help them learn to reset their little minds and bodies.
Let’s Have a Conversation
Take a moment to reflect on these questions about ways to care for yourself while caring for someone else. Share your thoughts in the comment section below. Remember, you are not alone and others will benefit from your thoughts.
- Do you have additional ways to care for yourself while caring for someone else?
- Which of these 20 self-care ideas is your favorite? How does it make you feel after you’ve done it?
- How many times a day do you stop and pause to do a small act of self-care? If you aren’t sure, try to keep track of it and make your self-care more intentional.
With light and love,
Susan B ✨
