How has the idea of self-care been consolidated over the years?
Nowadays, the concept of self-care is often linked to perfection and the image that social media creates to us, but the origins are far away from this aesthetic. Self-care is a form to hold and accept yourself to feel whole. The initial idea of this term gained attention in the 1950s in the United States, by humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers, in his humanistic theory, who said that every human being has a motivation to develop their own potential, which can lead to autonomy and self-actualization of their desires.
During this era, the concept of self-care was reinforced by Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, as “community care”, says the blog The Origins of Self-Care and Why Caring for Ourselves Is an Act of Defiance Against a System That Wants Us to Grind by Kehinde Balogun and Erin Roberts.
Pioneers of the Black Panther Party, such as Angela Davis and Ericka Huggins, have spoken about practices like meditation, yoga, and mindfulness adopted during incarceration.
In general, they defend good nutrition for the body and mind, as well as rest, as a form of resistance to racial inequality.
When is self-care is no longer caring?
Anxiety for reaching your daily objectives have been more and more common, whatever they are: exercising everyday, drinking enough water, or wearing sunscreen every morning. However, feeling guilty for not achieving your schedule turns into a toxic relationship with yourself, mostly in this era when self-care has turned into competition in an endless cycle of perfectionism.
Everybody wants to have control of the situation, and uses this to try to organize the chaos in the routine. Caroline Wessling emphasizes this behavior in her blog to San Francisco Anxiety Therapy, highlighting how strict self-care routines might transform into self criticism, resting seems like failure and comparing yourself turns into routine.
Marketing and aesthetic of a balanced routine in industry
This highly aesthetic self-care model is reinforced by celebrities and influencers, converting routine into personal branding.
Figures like Hailey Bieber, associated with clean girl style – minimalist and linked to “natural appearance” – and skincare routines widely recognized, show this type of image construction. Her skincare brand, “Rhode Skin”, helps consolidate the “clean” style by framing skincare as minimal and effortless, positioning the brand as part of that visual identity.
Singer Dua Lipa commented, on a video published by Vogue on YouTube, about always giving the impression “she is on vacation”, an image related to the fact that she is able to consolidate international tours, leisure, parties and exercising.
In Brazil, many brands use influencers to sell the idea of a fast-paced routine. Profiles popular among teenagers on TikTok, such as Manu Cit and Ju Mamute, show how routines can be productive and presented mixed with care, consumption, and discipline.
Subsequently, your supplements and water bottle that you want to buy are programmed with the promise that you need these products to give you the energy to start being the best version of yourself.
More than personal or individual criticism, their speech mirrors how the public see their routine, reinforcing that healthy habits are not only individual choices, but compose a carefully shared visual narrative.
what pausing the enjoyments of life to maintain an image do in the long run
Although it doesn’t look connected, personal development can be interrupted to sustain a stable and acceptable version of yourself. The high amount of consumed contents and daily habits are not even absorbed by your brain or body.
According to the studies published by Dr.Ana Maria Garcia and in the magazine ‘Revista Científica”, overloading stimuli cause stress, because they have a due date. This excess of self-pressure may silently bring mental and physical exhaustion, it can cause anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and body image distortion.
In addition, unlived moments appear. It is crucial to establish more time for spending with friends and family as a goal, while also exercising and following the diet. If not, going out for dinner with beloved people can make you feel guilty for skipping your usual routine. Even though you share in the social media a version of fun and well being, guilt erodes you in the insides.
How to learn to live up to your own boundaries?
Sometimes, so-called self care is also based on recognizing your own limits, ignoring the check list on your cell phone notes, and following your own rhythm. It is essential to rescue time with your body and mind, establish accessible practices and allow yourself to breathe.
Caring yourself once represented resistance and knowledge about yourself. So, if self-care becomes a constant performance that does not make you feel whole, its true meaning may be lost.
The article above was edited by Mariana De Oliver.
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