Toxic Self-Care Has No Benefits
Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare. — Audre Lorde.
Self-care is hot these days. As we go about our daily lives, we’re pummeled with a barrage of advice on self-care be it fitness, nutrition, skin care, hobbies, or mental health. You’re simply not living if you’re not “self-caring.”
Self care is important.
It keeps us sane.
And healthy.
I participate in personal self-care rituals every single day. When I don’t, I’m crabby, impatient and unreasonable.
Even so, my journey hasn’t been perfect. I’ve travelled the road of depression and anxiety. And I know how terrifying those experiences are.
Along the way, I reached out for and received a lot of help. While I still don’t have everything figured out, I feel grounded enough, in my middle-age, to recognize the self-care that works for me.
As a reasonably healthy person, I’m always open to new ideas. But, lately, every time I read a self-help influencer’s post about how I could be a better person, my breath quickens, my hands shake, and everything I’ve ever worried about in my entire life enters my mind. Because these…
