Without going into detail, this year has been tough for almost everyone, and before the dark, winter days, and desolate holiday season tap the final nails in 2020’s coffin, you deserve some serious self-care. Self-care is an activity that helps to manage a person’s mental, emotional, and/or physical health. For some, self-care is working out as well as spending time with loved ones; for others, it is eating comfort foods and indulging in spa treatments.
Ultimately, unplugging from stress and relaxing the body and mind are important elements of self-care — which is why cannabis is such a popular self-care tool. If you are a fan of the good green herbs, here are a few products you might be interested in picking up from your local dispensary to make your self-care day particularly sumptuous.
CBD Self-Care Hacks
Low THC, High CBD
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This is perhaps the most crucial rule to follow if you want your cannabis experience to be relaxing and rejuvenating: cut out as much THC as possible. THC is psychoactive, and its symptoms include paranoia and panic — which does not a satisfying, self-care session make.
Though high-THC strains can be fun in some circumstances, for your de-stressing endeavor, you need to look for low- or no-THC strains and products to take advantage of.
Fortunately, you shouldn’t be wanting for choice. The CBD craze has allowed CBD-forward cannabis offerings to proliferate; even if you live in a medical-marijuana-only state like Maryland, you should be able to find a plethora of CBD goodies inside and outside licensed dispensaries. If you do have access to legal recreational buds, you might ask budtenders in your area for strains like these, which have a favorable CBD-to-THC ratio:
- Ringo’s Gift
- Charlotte’s Web
- ACDC
- Cannatonic
- Harlequin
- Stephen Hawking Kush
Meditation Aids
Meditation is one of the best self-care practices, allowing you to connect with your emotions and body in the moment and set worries and stress to the side. Research on mindfulness meditation has revealed that it can sharpen attention, improve resiliency to stress, and generally boost mental health when practiced consistently over a period of time.
Getting high is a good way to truly focus on your meditative practice — but you need to be careful not to get too high, which might cause your mind to wander, or worse, it might make you fall asleep. If you find meditation difficult, you might take advantage of a few meditation aids, like these:
- A singing bowl, or another repetitive, relaxing sound
- Malas, or strings of beads
- Mandalas, or another colorful, complex visual stimulus
- A meditation seat, or a small cushion on the floor
Comfort Edibles
In most states, it is illegal to sell pre-made CBD edibles. This helps prevent the wrong products from falling into the wrong hands, keeping kids safer. However, it also means that if you enjoy self-care in the form of comfort foods, you might need to make your own at home.
Typically, it is easier to start with a concentrated oil — ideally full-spectrum, so you can make the most of the entourage effect. Then, you only have to add a few drops of oil while you are cooking to enjoy the effects of CBD in your food. If you are working with raw flower, you will need to infuse cooking oil or butter. Then, you can integrate cannabinoids seamlessly into almost any recipe. Some of the best self-care foods to kick up with cannabis include:
- Brownies
- Mac n cheese
- Ice cream
- Pot pie
- Tomato soup
- Pizza
- Grilled cheese
Bath and Spa Stuff
Finally, one of the most quintessential self-care activities is associated with pampering your body and mind with special bath and spa treatments. Fortunately, there is a bevy of CBD and THC products designed specifically for at-home spa care, like bath bombs and salts, soaks, gels, exfoliants, lotions, salves, and more.
Though these might seem like novelty items, science shows that cannabinoids can soak into your skin and provide targeted effects, and high doses of THC applied topically can actually make you feel high. You shouldn’t be afraid to turn your bathroom into your self-care studio and invest in luxurious spa products that make you feel good.
The bottom line
You deserve a day off — maybe even a whole week to relax, reduce your stress and repair any damage to your mental health. Cannabis can help, but you should have a plan for how you will use it to make your self-care especially satisfying.
