Self-Care: What Is and Isn’t
Let’s start at the basics. Self-care is proactive and necessary to take care of yourself. It promotes overall health and wellness. Self-care is also a way to cope with and manage the stresses of everyday life. It strengthens and nourishes your mind, body, and soul. The best part of self-care? You get to choose what replenishes you. It’s important to make sure all aspects of yourself are taken care of through intentional, self-care. What you find replenishing will continue to grow and evolve as you do!
There are various aspects of self-care like physical, mental, spiritual, social, and environmental well-being. Physical self-care can look like practicing good sleep habits, exercising, and eating a balanced diet. Relaxation, mindfulness, learning, journaling, and engaging hobbies are ways to take care of yourself mentally and emotionally. Spiritual self-care can include praying, mediation, or spending time connecting to nature. Social self-care is exactly as it sounds. It is spending intentional time with friends, family, and other supports. Environmental self-care is taking time to ensure your space is safe, clean, and calm.
Self-care is something you do everyday, and you might not even be aware that you’re doing it! Self-care can be both things big and small. It can be as simple as taking a shower, drinking the recommended amounts of water, exercising, or practicing good sleep habits. Self-care can also be a “treat” or a special occasion. Self-care habits that may not be an everyday habit could include massages, retail therapy, or time off. Social media tends to promote the idea of self-care being a treat or an indulgence. While it can be a treat, there are self-care habits that you engage in daily. Self-care may not even be something you want to do at the moment but you choose to do it anyway! You may not want to go to the gym but you push through and feel better for it. It can be helpful to include both simple and indulgent types of self-care.
We’ve established that self-care is proactive, necessary, nourishing, and a part of your day to day. Now that we know what self-care is, let’s talk about what it is not. Self-care is not selfish. It’s imperative to take care of yourself before you’re able to care for others. Self-care is also not always relaxing. Sometimes self-care is doing the hard thing like cleaning your space, meal prepping, or going to the gym when you don’t want to. Self-care is not time consuming. It can be done in a few minutes by taking a deep breath, a shower, or engaging in meditation. Self-care is not a reward but instead, a necessity. Self-care doesn’t have to be expensive and it may even be free!
Self-care looks different from person to person. You get to define what self-care means to you. Remember, self-care is a proactive way to take care of yourself. You can practice self-care in big and small ways. Make it a goal to take care of yourself in at least one way every day!