The importance of self-care has become increasingly more appreciated by all those who are struggling to feel like themselves, or struggling to relax in stressful times. Advice is constantly being given about taking a night to do all the self-care things you don’t get to do on a regular basis. People recommend fancy smelling facemasks, painting your nails, soaking in a bath, and wearing silk pajamas on a night in. All of these things are great, and are good things to do for yourself, but they do not encapsulate what taking care of yourself really looks like.
Putting a facemask on will not create the meaningful change in your life that true self-care measures can bring. Something that can bring about change is transforming the way you speak to yourself, and the way you feel about yourself. Self-care is changing negative self-talk into kindness towards yourself, and accepting your flaws. It’s stopping the judgmental cycle that are the thoughts in your head. Every time we have passing thoughts such as “Oh I look terrible today,” or “I forgot to finish that I’m so dumb,” we train our brain to truly believe these things. On a subconscious level, these silly fleeting thoughts become how we feel about ourselves, and repeated negative thoughts become solidified in our self-image. It’s important to begin replacing negativity with self-love. When you consciously change your thoughts, and make a point to speak nicely about yourself, you subconscious begins to shift as well. This is a far more important practice to put your energy into on a daily basis rather than enhancing your skincare, or painting your nails. And that is coming from a girl who loves skincare.
Another important practice that nurtures your soul better than mainstream self-care is putting the pen to paper and writing. Well, maybe this one is a little cliché, but it’s something that not enough people do. When thoughts remain stagnant in your mind, they fester and turn into something they never needed to become. An outlet to release the thoughts before they get exacerbated is very important. When your thoughts come out on paper, they become more tangible and you are able to see them from a new perspective. Write everything you think and feel, walk away for five minutes, then return and read what you put down on the paper. Read it from an outsider perspective and allow yourself to be objective. Sometimes, all you need is to release the feelings in order to feel a little bit better.
Typical self-care activities should still have a place and purpose in your life, but it’s essential to understand that it’s okay if those activities aren’t helping you to truly feel better. Sometimes issues can’t be solved by simply doing something for your physical body. Mental work is not as simple as that, but it is doable and can have long term beneficial effects. So, grab your journal and put on a facemask- you can always multitask.