In light of the theme of mental health awareness, an important part of mental health is self care. Though when most people think of self care, the first things that come to mind are face masks, massages, and yummy desserts. These are definitely part of self care, but it isn’t the whole picture. There are other pieces to this puzzle that sometimes gets forgotten or neglected.
Physical Health – Now I’m not promoting hypochondriasis, but I know a lot of people that only go to the doctor unless they are forced to or it is a dire emergency. It is important to go to the doctor annually to make sure things are in order with your body.
Another important aspect of physical health is exercise. It helps get the blood flowing as well as reduce stress, tension and anxiety. Even healthy eating helps keep your insides in alignment. It is hard to manage your mental well being when your physical health isn’t well.
Self preservation – Self care is not being selfish. I repeat: self care is not being selfish. It is a way of preserving yourself; it is so much harder to do for others when you can barely do for yourself. The most selfless, empathic person in the world should still have moments of solitude where they figure out where they are at in their life. Even if that means taking time away from others to get yourself in order, guess what?
Emotional Check-Ins – These are one of the key components to self care. Emotional stability is vital but not everyone knows how to achieve this. Everyone copes with stress in different ways, but what is healthiest for you? Some helpful ways are surrounding yourself with people that uplift you, being in environments that make you feel comfortable, meditation, and going to therapy. In terms of therapy, sometimes, you just have to confront your feelings head on, and what better way to do that than with someone whose job is literally to listen to you and help you grow as a person?
Forgiveness/ Acceptance – For a lot of people, this is probably one of the hardest things for us to master. This is something that can affect daily life, with your interactions with others as well as the way you feel about yourself. This is not to be confused, though. Acceptance doesn’t mean that you are accepting poor treatment or ill intentions, it just means that you are accepting that shit happens. Transitioning from this to forgiveness, you are not necessarily forgiving others that have wronged you because they always deserve it, but because you do. It is to lift that weight off of your heart and mind. Acceptance and forgiveness is a vow to take your power back.
Manifest your Destiny – There are a lot of self help videos and books out there. One of the common themes they talk about it manifestation. The idea is that one can manifest their own destiny. Now, before you give me your life story, as empathetic as I am, hear me out. This just means that our mind is such a powerful place. Our thoughts, our words, our beliefs, and our actions can lead us down whatever path it is correlated with. If we have certain goals, we have to really work towards them to achieve them, even if one of those things needs to change.
Spirituality – Everyone has their own set of values which I can respect; everyone is different. For many people, they feel most solid because they have a strong belief system. They believe that there is some kind of power or force greater than their own out there. This belief can push people to feel more inner peace, to feel a sense of purpose, and a sense of belonging. Again, people are entitled to their own beliefs but it helps to just have faith that your life will turn out okay.
Self care goes hand in hand with mental health. It is like mopping up all the mud tracks on the floor of your mind. It is not always the easiest thing to do, but you will find so many benefits. While some things are out of our control in life, how we respond to them is up to us. It is so important that you take care of yourself! You are your greatest investment after all.