some history to give perspective on where the term "self-care" came from and how it's evolved over the years.
a repository of self-care resources for developers & others
some history to give perspective on where the term "self-care" came from and how it's evolved over the years.
a collection of suggestions for taking better care of yourself in tough times.
a non-profit organization website with forums that is focusing on improving mental state of IT-workers.
a short, inspirational guide to getting started with your self-care practices.
a round-table discussion from A List Apart on the state of mental health perceptions in the web industry.
a good, general overview of self-care practices.
Aloe is a self-care focused community within Femsplain. Fast or slow, we're giving you the tools to grow. Features a newsletter, twitter bot and Medium publication of useful articles.(Aloe is also now an app)
while mostly targeted at students, this site features short video guides on handling stress, relationships, and improving overall wellness.
a video that shows you how to make yourself sad. a form of reverse psychology that powerfully shows some of those bad habits and ways of living that are so easy to slip into.
Inspired by 100DaysofCode, 100 Days of Healthing is a challenge to spend an hour a day, for 100 days, working on your health & self care. It’s permission to give yourself an hour a day. And we’re all here with you.
LemonAid offers an active, supportive community where you can unload your struggles and share successes anonymously. they believe in openly speaking about mental health, trauma, human rights and professional challenges. as of now, the community is open for those who are female-identifying, but they are working to expand that. check out the website, or just join the [Slack Group](https://nicole64.typeform.com/to/MKsY8J).
You’ve made it this far, and you will make it through. You are stronger than you think.
some helpful guidelines if things are really bad and you find yourself in crisis. please seek out the resources on that page if you feel like you can't go any further on your own.
an interactive flow chart for people who struggle with self care.
a resource that reads (in a good way) like documentation for a code library or development methodology, breaking down actionable steps for recovering from burnout.
Jessica Abel, comic book writer and artist, takes you through her method of getting herself back into your routine after an absence.
You’ve been doing too much for too long. And it’s broken you. You’re burned out. You’re done.
a collection of information on taking care of your hands and other body parts.
an extensive getting started guide to exercises.
an app (iOS, Android) that provides short workouts with great instruction.
The "owner's manual for the human body", a free e-book on how to maintain your body in decent condition. Fair warning, the importance of eating at regular interval has been debunked since the release, but the rest of the book still stands.
Automatic meal planner to help stick with a balanced diet, calculated based on your body and lifestyle parameters.
a scientifically-minded reproductive health app (iOS, Android) that goes beyond mere period tracking.
a down-to-earth video explaining basic meditation from WellCast.
this comprehensive guide covers exactly: where to meditate, how to meditate, what to do with your mind, how long to do it for, and even how long before you start seeing benefits.
this short, concise, classic book by Thich Nhat Hanh introduces the practical application of mindfulness both in meditation and in daily life.
Plum Village has a list of mindfulness practices to help you bring mindfulness into your daily life.
a few useful thoughts on getting started with meditation and dispelling a few myths about the practice.
a lovely, peaceful breathing app with three speed settings and gentle animations. no ads. iOS only for now.
a beautiful 60-second meditation tool to help clear your mind.
a good outline of a classic meditation visualization that can work well in a short amount of time if you are feeling out of sorts.
free guided meditation for iOS, Android and the web.
a wonderful collection of free and paid apps and MP3s by a Scottish hypnotherapist.
an irreverant, but surprisingly helpful 2 1/2 minute meditation.
an app (iOS) that offers access to hundreds of short, guided meditations.
meditation made simple. learn online, when you want, wherever you are, in just 10 minutes a day.
a simple mindfulness meditation app that brings clarity and peace of mind into your life.
an app that will lead you through meditations. It comes with reminders to help you remember to meditate.
Jack Kornfield's website lists various well-writtetn meditations, some of them in audio/video, on walking, mindfulness, gratitude and various other topics.
the podcast that puts you to sleep.
a series of mixes intended for listening while working to aid concentration and increase productivity.
Sarah James, a lifestyle blogger and self-help aficionado, is joined by bestie Kristen Howerton, a writer and psychotherapist, as they tackle the tricky and often elusive aspects of caring for ourselves.
sometimes you need someone to tell you it's ok. Sometimes you need someone to tell you your breath smells great.
adoptable kittens, livestreaming 24/7. enough said, right?
random slides of manatees with phrases as if they were your best parent-type friend.
live feeds of peaceful jellyfish, waving kelp forests and other sea life.
sled dog puppies at the Historic Park Kennels of the Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, United States.
soothing videos (some without music) of vegan food recipes being prepared in beatiful kitchen.
online, always private, blank page for anything you want to say. the site is built around The Artist's Way's practice of free-association writing first thing in the morning. exports are available.
a nice guide to the health benefits of journaling including some tips on getting started.
30 Prompts for self-reflection and self-discovery when you don't know what to write about.
Joshua Ginter shares his experience of how journaling as an accountant helped him get through the hectic tax season more healthily.
Del provides printable, Creative Commons licensed coloring pages for grown ups on her Free Colouring Pages and also sells a coloring book and a digital book on how to draw mandalas yourself.
often called "Patience," more than 150 Solitaire games have been devised.
the Craft Yarn Council guide to getting started with knitting and crochet.
the Sea Lemon youtube channel offers tutorials on making lots of different crafts, often related to paper crafts and organizational tools. the video linked here is focused on calming crafts, but her videos are soothing to watch on their own as well.
OS X app makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.
a free Mac application to help you avoid distracting websites.
a Google Chrome extension that limits the amount of time that you can spend on time-wasting websites.
a program for Linux and Windows that reminds users to take micro-pauses and rest breaks.
mood and healthy behavior tracking, meditations and other activities to help you cope with stress or anxiety.
An Android app like F.lux; makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day, red-shifted at night and normal during the day.
Happify provides a variety of easy to do and effective exercises to teach you new emotional skills and coping methods. Available for iOS, Android, and desktop!
a background noise generator with built-in text editor.
a site with a very wide variety of noise generators, ranging from nature sounds and industrial noises to soundscapes and simulated voices.
a 30-minute thunderstorm loop, online and an app.
a combination white-noise and pomodoro-timer app for iOS. soothing sounds & periodic "take a break" reminders.
8 hour long video that highlights the sound of rain.
a.m. ambient is an internet radio stream featuring bright and positive ambient music.
the internet has a cat. complete with random little meows and various options to control the intensity of all those purrs.
a free habit building and productivity app that treats your real life like a game.
gamify your life to improve your mood and conquer your challenges.
triggers the body’s ‘rest and digest’ response by slowly and continuously moving your fingertip on the screen.
a Twine game for queer trans mentally ill people who want to live out the fantasy of a world that is both kind and fucking awesome.
a collection of games, little tools, zines, music, and bots created as part of the game jam.
Viridi is a meditative potted plant app for both desktop (PC/OSX) and mobile (Android/iOS). the soundtrack is also available.
a bot that checks in on you.
Reminders to take your medications from a robot that swallowed a thesaurus.
a bot that is your friend who loves you and even responds to your retweets.
a bot that helps you get things done in a balanced way.
humans are squishy and weak, but they are my friends, so i remind them to drink water.
a bot to remind you to be kind to yourself during the day and take breaks every 3 hours.
Twitter bot, tweets self-care reminders. One of the first ever self-care bots.
Twitter bot for people going through a hard time.
Caroline Moore's talk from OSFeels 2016.
a great talk by Kathleen Danielson at PyCon 2015 about how burnout happens, what it looks like, and how to recover from it.
Pam Selle's February 2012 Ignite Philly 9 talk on going the fuck home after work, working while you're at work, and being happy.
a walk in the park may soothe the mind and change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health.
Jordan Rosenfeld tells the story of how he recovered his creative thinking by cutting back on his screen time.
a TED talk from Guy Winch about why emotional health and hygiene are just as important as physical health and hygiene.
a NYT article that covers the phenomenon of decision fatigue.
advice on how to conquer “decision fatigue”.
Quick video guides to managing your ADHD (since a lot of tech workers have it and could harness it for good rather than feeding their self-doubt!).
things are rough and self-care is more important than ever. here's some thoughts on remaining engaged and active without burning out.
slides from a presentation by @aditibhandari with tips on self-care including some hand and wrist exercises
a great resource on what to do if you're burnt out and what managers can do to prevent burnout in their employees. quite a few of our resources came from here as well.
J. Paul Reed outlines his method for taking short, but vital, retreats in his regular life.
when game designer Jane McGonigal found herself bedridden and suicidal following a severe concussion, she dove into scientific research and created the healing game, SuperBetter. in her talk, McGonigal explains how a game can boost resilience.
you have to actually go offline to read this thoughtful piece on the potential of building offline web-based things.
Brie Code writes about the process of designing tend-and-befriend games focused on self-care and personal growth.
part of a series, this article covers the benefits of understanding who you are.
"The Happiness Project" author Gretchen Rubin provides a solid starting point for getting to know yourself so you can start making better choices in your self-care.
Jade Yap gives some general guidance on how to start understanding yourself better, a key to preventing burnout.
a nice set of questions to guide your self-discovery. they also make great journal prompts.