Small ways to take care of yourself in an overwhelming world 

I find myself more and more frustrated as each day passes. Though listening to an audiobook while meticulously placing tiny gems on a canvas does not solve nearly any of my problems, it helps a smidge.

When I can’t doom-scroll anymore, when I need to do literally anything else, I put together a jigsaw puzzle. I walk my dog. I create a collage with cut-up pieces of magazines. I call my friends.

Let me repeat this: listening to your favorite album on repeat, joining your neighborhood association and walking through Saguaro National Park will not solve the world’s problems. When you’re in a deep rut because of so many external reasons, doing a yoga class might not change much about how you feel. It might even feel like a slap in the face when someone tells you to simply take deep breaths as though that’s a sure way of bringing happiness into your life. But maybe that game night or that coloring book does make you feel a teensy bit better — maybe even a lot better!

The thing is, when we’re living in such trying times, I welcome any teensy bit of help I can get. Here are some activities in Tucson to practice a little bit of mindfulness.

Note: This information is a resource and I am not a licensed behavioral health professional. This resource does not seek to provide medical services or counseling and does not substitute care provided by those specialties. If you or a loved one are experiencing an emergency, please call 911. The Pima County mental health crisis line is 520-622-6000 and the national mental health line is 988.

Find your community

• Participate socially! Join a club and/or attend a social event — there are lots of free and low-cost options here including craft nights by Queer + Femme Tucson and Queer Hearth Tucson and Latin American folk music gatherings by La Peña del SurCo.
• Volunteer with a nonprofit, an organization that you value or a mutual-aid group like Gator-Aid, Tucson Freedge, South Tucson Community Outreach, Community On Wheels, Community Care Tucson and ALMA.
• Join your neighborhood association.
• Create check-ins with friends (and make plans to go to local events together!).

Nature: easy!

• Walk through Tohono Chul or the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
• Go birding alongside an expert at Mission Garden, which is always free to visit.
• Drive through Saguaro National Park or up Mount Lemmon.
• Visit the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
• Have a picnic at Sweetwater Wetlands, Reid Park or Agua Caliente Park.

Nature: a little more difficult!

• Take in the city views from the top of Tumamoc Hill.
• Hike to Seven Falls or Blackett’s Ridge.
• Bike The Loop.
• Learn to garden — lean on groups like Tucson Organic Gardeners and Pima County Master Gardeners.

Do something creative

• Journal in the traditional sense or junk journal with Artsy Babes Club or Keep Tucson Crafty.
• Do a $5-$15 craft with the Art Cart at a local brewery or cafe.
• Learn to sew with Crafting Resilience, including free mending circles every first Wednesday.
• Take a cooking class at The Garden Kitchen.
• Shop at ReArt and pick out a craft to try for an affordable price.
• Go to one of Pueblo Vida’s monthly coloring days.

Read a book

• Shop at an indie bookstore like Stacks Book Club or Homeward Books.
• Pick up a zine or book about wellness or activism from Yolia Botanica.
• Connect with your favorite authors at events like the free Tucson Festival of Books.
• Check out a zine from Tucson Zine Fest’s Zine Library at Groundworks.
• Get a library card. While you’re at the library, pick up a Culture Pass, which gets you free admission to participating arts and cultural attractions.
• Join a book club.

Wellness

• Take a dance, yoga or Pilates class — Studio Fuerza recently started offering a class that blends yoga with a sound bath.
• Buy a candle in a scent that you love, like a monsoon one from Cicada.
• Make custom bath salts at Di Luna or Yolia Botanica.
• Get a massage, get your nails done, get a facial!

Laugh, listen, chat

• See a comedy show at Laffs.
• Do a little improv at Tucson Improv Movement.
• Watch your favorite TV show or movie for the millionth time! Casa Video and Film Bar often screens free movies alongside a food truck.
• Listen to stories and tell one of your own with Female* Storytellers and Odyssey Storytelling.

Listen to your favorite music

• Turn off the lights, turn on your headphones and do breath work while listening to your favorite album. Tucson Water and Alex! Jimenez have a monsoon mixtape!
• Find a local musician to support.
• Attend a live show at a space like the Rialto, La Rosa, Hotel Congress or The Fox.
• Karaoke or open mic nights!
• Bring an instrument to a jam session at Groundworks or Monterey Court.

Do something new

• Take a road trip outside of Tucson. My favorite is Bisbee!
• Learn a language or a new skill. Suggestions include workshops at Libra & Thorn or classes at Tucson Clay Co-Op, Sonoran Glass School, Desert Metal Craft, Nak Sewing or Pima Community College.
• Try a new restaurant. New additions to Tucson’s gastronomy scene include Sisters, BŌS Burger and Kintaro.
• Explore a museum like The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures or the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun. The Tucson Museum of Art, Children’s Museum Tucson and MOCA Tucson usually have free admission nights each month.
• Take a photo of something positive every day — your favorite wildflowers in spring, one of Tucson’s immaculate sunsets, your drink at Scented Leaf.

Games and puzzles

• Compete in a puzzle tournament at Snakes & Lattes.
• Attend a game night with Desert Garden Gallery, Queer Hearth Tucson, Celestia Collective, Isle of Games and Tucson Games & Gadgets.
• Join Women Play DND‘s Discord, which is led by a Tucsonan who is creating a safe space for women to play Dungeons & Dragons.