If we are being honest, sometimes life is rough. There are so many things to do and so many things to stress about. We worry about our friends and try to fix their problems, and our families and everyone else depending on us. We forget about ourselves a lot of the time, and folks that is not okay. I have a PSA for everyone: it’s okay to take care of yourself. I know it’s a radical thought, but hear me out. You cannot continue to take care of everyone else if you go off the deep end because you forgot about taking care of yourself. You are just as important as everyone else who you put above yourself. You matter. There are so many ways to practice self-care. If you are religious you can read verses in the Bible or Quran or whatever you believe in. I know one of my friends does skin care routines as her form of self-care because it’s relaxing and makes her feel good. You can just sit and listen to your favorite music, go for a drive or watch your favorite TV show. It’s really quite simple.
But, sometimes self-care has to be more than just washing your face. It could mean cutting out toxic friends in your life. You are the most important person in your life, and sometimes you have to come first. I know that might seem selfish, but for you to take care of others you have to be healthy. Unfortunately, sometimes you really care about someone and love being their friend, but they only talk about their problems and never get around to talking about yours. The only time you ever hang out is if you initiate it, and when you do, they point out your flaws. I hate to break it to you, but they may not be such a good friend and they might need to go.
Self-care is hard for everyone; I’m not writing this because I have mastered taking care of myself. I wrote this because it’s something I also need to be reminded of on a daily basis. So everyone, please remember you matter and it’s okay to put yourself first sometimes.