By: Meg Zulch
It’s so easy to neglect your mental health, so easy to prioritize work and productivity over all else. It’s because of this that self care can be categorized as extra or indulgent, and often gets neglected for “more important” things. However, self care drives home the idea that your physical and emotional health are most important, and crucial for the rest of the system to work properly. Because, let’s face it: when we do take the time to treat ourselves to a face mask or a meditation, we tend to feel more motivated at work and present in our relationships.
For people living with mental illnesses like panic disorder, mood disorders and personality disorders, self care is absolutely essential to proper functioning. Because the truth is this: these coping skills we often write off as menial are actually incredibly productive and essential for certain folks to get through their days.
However, the main critique on self care dialogues seems to mainly surround accessibility. Because usually folks don’t want to or simply can’t fork over money to indulge in a face mask or manicure, often because folks who struggle with mental illness have a harder time finding and keeping reasonably-paying jobs.
So I’ve compiled some of my favorite self care methods that have helped me through…
