Self-care series · Part 2
Self-care series 2: the daily basics that actually hold you up
Sleep, food, movement, daylight and screens. Part two of the HHSS self-care series covers the unglamorous daily habits that do most of the heavy lifting.
Part two of the HHSS self-care series. When your head is a mess, the answer is rarely a big life change. It's usually five small things you've quietly stopped doing.
Sleep is the foundation, not a luxury
Almost every mental health problem gets louder on bad sleep. You don't need a perfect routine — you need a consistent wake-up time and a phone that lives outside the bedroom.
If you can only fix one thing this week, fix this one.
The unglamorous checklist
None of these are impressive. All of them work better than they should.
- Eat something before midday, even if you don't want it.
- Get outside in daylight within an hour of waking.
- Move for twenty minutes — a walk counts, the gym is optional.
- Drink water before coffee.
- Put a hard stop on scrolling an hour before bed.
Lower the bar on purpose
On a bad week, the goal isn't a routine — it's one item off that list. Doing one thing badly beats planning five things perfectly and doing none.
Progress here is measured in weeks, not days. Keep the bar low enough that you can clear it when you feel awful, because those are the days it counts.
If the basics aren't touching it
Habits help. They don't cure depression, anxiety or grief. If you're doing the basics and still sinking, speak to your GP, or call Samaritans on 116 123 or CALM on 0800 58 58 58.
Next in the series: how to actually talk to your mates about this.
Need support?
If this post has brought up difficult feelings, these UK services offer free, confidential support.
Every HHSS heavyweight hoodie is £55 with £5 donated to Man Down UK, a men's mental health non-profit.