Self-Care is Essential to Maintaining Your Health and Well-Being
It’s even more important these days.
Self-care is essential to maintaining your own health and well-being.
Think about how you prioritize self-care by regularly taking care of YOU in ways both big and small. Self-care doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or take a large amount of time. Waiting until you feel completely overwhelmed, or experience an emotional or physical breakdown, in order to take a spa day or week-long vacation is not the best way to prioritize self-care. Rather, the goal is to incorporate things that you enjoy and make you feel good into your daily and weekly routine to keep you feeling balanced, joyful, and sane. Now is the time to build up your own self-care toolbox so that you are able to live a full and fulfilling life.
How do you to take care of yourself?
When life gets busy, we can easily push self-care and our own needs and wants to the back burner. Making sure your own needs are met and that you are dealing with your emotions in mindful ways is important for your overall well-being. In today’s fast-paced world, if you are not making time for yourself and your needs, it can be easy to become overwhelmed and stressed out. What are you currently doing in your daily life to take care of yourself, both physically and emotionally? Take a minute to assess what you are currently doing to take care of yourself and ways in which you are not taking good care of yourself. Which list is longer? Maybe there are ways in which you want to take better care of yourself that you can begin to incorporate into your routine. Or maybe there are ways in which you are not taking good care of yourself that you want to stop doing.
Self-care involves looking at the whole picture of yourself and your health.
Do you find you put others first? Prioritizing your spouse, children, parents, job, housework, or other things before yourself is very common. However, putting your needs first allows you to fill your cup so that you are able to show up wholly for others and to live your best life. Think about what you value in life and all the components of yourself that make you who you are. Remember to focus on the picture of your whole self, including your physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual sides. This may include your food & nutrition habits, your exercise (or physical movement) practices, the ways in which you manage distress, your sleep routine and patterns, connection, play, joy, work, and so much more. What aspects of your life and body have you been neglecting? What areas of self-care could you do a better job of prioritizing?
Self-care is anything that involves meeting your specific needs and desires.
Whether it’s attending to your relationships, eating in a way that leaves you feeling good physically and emotionally, moving your body in ways that feel good and that you enjoy, prioritizing rest and sleep, letting yourself feel and express your emotions, engaging in creative pursuits and hobbies that bring you joy, and pretty much anything else that puts a focus on you and your needs. Brainstorm all the things you enjoy doing for fun or when you have a free moment. Think back to when you were younger — were there things you used to do for pleasure and joy that you’ve neglected making time for as an adult? Make a list of what activities you enjoy and want to re-engage in. Think outside the box and make your list as long and creative as possible. You’re just brainstorming here so let your wildest ideas and dreams come alive.
Dealing with difficult moments in life or distressful emotions and feelings can take a toll on us.
Think about a challenging moment or feeling that happened recently. What did you do to cope with or combat those feelings? Oftentimes, we engage in behaviors that make us feel good in the short-term but aren’t in line with how we want to feel and live in the long-term. Maybe you turn to food as a form of comfort when you are angry or sad. Perhaps you shut down and bottle up your emotions inside, which leaves you feeling disconnected and lonely. Having coping skills in your self-care toolbox can help you be more prepared for dealing with difficult moments and emotions in a productive and mindful way. Make a list of coping skills you want to test out. These may include skills and tools you can use to distract yourself, soothe yourself in a non-destructive manner, bring yourself to the here-and-now present moment, or physical items that can help with coping such as a stress ball, an essential oil roller, headphones for listening to music or meditation, or a picture that brings you joy and reminds you of a happy time. Again, allow your creative juices to flow and come up with as many ideas as you can think of.
There are many barriers in life that cause self-care to be put on the back burner.
You are likely playing many roles in life and in your relationships that take up your time and energy, leaving little left over for your needs and wants. Are you afraid to ask others for help so that you can overcome the obstacles in your daily life? What fears do you have about asking others for help and making yourself a priority? What advice would you give a friend or family member who was feeling overwhelmed and burnt out? How can you begin to weave self-care into your everyday life so that you are able to be your best self and avoid falling into old ways that no longer serve you? Some ideas include reading, journaling, meditating, deep breathing, going for a walk outside, doing some light yoga or stretching, calling a friend to chat, lighting a candle that smells good, listening to music, and anything else you enjoy that engages the senses, disengages you from your barriers, and brings your focus to the present moment. Make a list of one to three things you want to incorporate into your daily life or routine this week that will help you overcome your barriers to self-care.
