Aditi Ramchandani - The Self-Care Habit: The 4-Step Formula to Ditch the Stress and Find Your Flow

The Self-Care Habit

The 4-Step Formula
to Ditch the Stress and
Find Your Flow

Aditi Ramchandani

Special Thanks

A shout-out to each person who preordered this book before it was written. I feel especially grateful for your support and belief in me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You helped make this book happen! Thank you to:

Published by
Hybrid Global Publishing
333 E 14th Street, #3C
New York, NY 10003

Copyright 2022 by Aditi Ramchandani

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

Manufactured in the United States of America, or in the United Kingdom when distributed elsewhere.

Ramchandani, Aditi.
The Self-Care Habit

ISBN: 978-1-957013-47-3
eBook: 978-1-957013-48-0

Cover design by: Joe Potter
Developmental editing by: Claudia Volkman
Copyediting by: Dea Gunning
Interior design by: Suba Murugan

www.aditicreative.com

In loving memory of Kapil Bhaiya (19742020), who inspired me to follow my calling no matter what

Contents

Introduction

As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.

RUMI

Self-care saved my life. It is the reason I am writing this book. During one of the lowest points in my life when I felt hopeless, defeated, and drained, self-care is what got me through. Whatever brought you to this book, I truly believe self-care will help you in any area of your life.

Pouring into yourself will always be a positive benefit. Its like eating nutritious foodit will always be beneficial to your optimal functioning. Thats how I want you to think of self-carea positive gain.

You might have found yourself reading this book because:

You want to practice self-care but have no idea where to start.

Youre tired of being stressed and missing out on life because of it.

Youre curious and want to explore new tools to add to your belt.

Youre at your wits end and your body is screaming for another way.

Youre surviving but know your current way isnt sustainable for long.

Youre ready to start really living and stress less.

No matter what led you here, youve come to the right place. My intention in writing this book is to give you the tools to navigate your own journey so you can live a life that is more than just a never-ending stress ball. To help bring the concepts to life, Ive included real life examples, stories, and additional resources to take your self-care study further. You will also find activities to complete and writing prompts to journal and reflect on. In this journey together, were going to turn your stress habits into self-care habits that nurture, motivate, and enliven you.

Building Your Self-Care Muscle

Ive been extremely vulnerable to stress my whole life, especially as a highly sensitive person and an empath. Im talking hair loss, pimples, getting sick, gaining weight, emotional meltdowns, and even a half-paralyzed face at age twenty (storytime on that later).

Years of chronic stress, depression, and burnout forced me to seek solutions when the physical and emotional burdens became too heavy to carry. If youre feeling this way too, know that youre not alone.

In one of my lowest moments, I reached a profound revelation that catapulted my self-care journey. I was lying in a bathtub for hours, crying and thinking I wasnt going to make it, and thats when it hit me: No one was coming to save me.

As I sunk deeper into the tub, feeling hopeless, a new thought arose: Well, if I want to get out of this misery, Im going to have to save myself. For the first time in weeks, I saw a way out. It was an aha moment that opened up new possibilities for me. I was up for the challenge because I knew I couldnt stay in that tub forever. I accepted the assignment. I was going to save myself or die trying.

The first thing I decided to do was UP my self-care by 1,000 percent. I had no idea what that meant, but I thought it would be a good start. I put on my self-care cape and climbed out of that hole over the following months. I was shocked, because last time I had felt this way it took me over two years to climb out.

That moment in the bathtub is what birthed this book. I wondered, how many other people were in deep suffering like this and how were they making it through life? I told myself, If I ever get to the other side of this, I must help others climb out of their hole too. I even brainstormed titles of the book while in the tub. Its funny to think about now. The first title of this book was something intense like Shattered Glass or Broken Pieces.

That experience is where my strongest self-care muscle was built. The lessons I learned, the tools I practiced, the level of care I took of myself was something Ive been able to come back to often over the years. Its almost like that experience set the blueprint for the future. And really set the blueprint of this book.