What is Self-Care?

There seems to be a common theme of my articles recently: self-care. Aside from my writing about it a lot, there are Snapchat filters, social media movements, and even blogs dedicated to it. Here’s the thing… how many of us actually know what self-care is? 

According to PsychCentral, self-care is “any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.” (Raphailia Michael) Now the biggest issue with the latest self-care trend is that it’s creating a sort of criteria that people feel their activities must meet. If face masks and bubble baths aren’t your cups of tea, then find something you actually enjoy doing.

If finding time to fit in one of these activities is challenging, then perhaps focus on your body’s general needs. As I mentioned in my previous article, staying hydrated is super important, and it’s often forgotten by many of us. Drinking loads of coffee may make you feel more energized to start, but by the end of the day you may be dragging your feet; try drinking water in the morning before and after drinking coffee to help your body feel rejuvenated. Another essential, sleeping, is yet another basic need of our bodies’ that we often push aside. Making a prioritized list of assignments and tasks at the beginning of the week can help you manage your time more efficiently, so you can ensure a good night’s sleep more consistently. While these are just some foundational pieces of self-care, there are a variety of ways to treat yourself. If finding time throughout the week is challenging, then set aside a day of the weekend for some “me-time”. If you feel a bit isolated from your friends lately, ask them to set up a monthly get-together where you all gather to catch up and have a good time.

Another issue with self-care is how infrequently people participate in it. With such a success-driven and goal-oriented world, it can be easy to get caught up in the distractions of day-to-day life. Weeks go by in the blink of an eye and to-dos seem to pile endlessly on top of each other. Here’s a little word of advice from someone who has wandered deep into this rabbit hole too many times to count; prioritize yourself and your needs. Odds of you producing a piece of work you are genuinely happy with and confident in submitting after four days of no sleep and minimal food are slim. Take the time to take care of yourself so you can show the world what you are made of!

I think the biggest takeaway from this article is that self-care can be anything. Try introducing some self-care into your life even if it’s small and simple at first. Your future self will thank you later and your present-self will benefit too. Take care of yourself, ladies and gents. We are all in this chaos together, but it’s up to you to make it enjoyable! 

 

References:

https://psychcentral.com/blog/what-self-care-is-and-what-it-isnt-2/

• Ashley Wellman
• emotional health
• health
• mental health
• physical health
• psychology
• self-care
• treat yourself