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Living a life dedicated to others seems to be the key to happiness and fulfillment. Saying ‘no’ or putting our own interests first can feel like breaking a social rule. But is it? Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like if we all treated ourselves as well as we treat our favorite pets. How would it change? What would your life be like? What would things look like?
There are so many reasons why we should take time to take care of ourselves — our mental health, physical stress, relationships. Self-care is important! In today’s society, people have busy lives and don’t make self-care a priority. It’s not easy to slow down and rest, but it’s necessary.
The fact that we live in a world where experts are telling us that we need to take self-care seriously speaks volumes. It’s the 21st century and it is abundantly clear that the frenetic pace of our lives has become unsustainable, perhaps even dangerous. It is increasingly becoming clear how important taking care of ourselves actually is.
Self-care has been a trendy term in recent years, but many people do not fully understand what it means. Read on to find out more about self-care and why it’s an important part of your mental and physical health.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), self-care is “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.”
Self-care is the practice of individuals looking after their own health using the knowledge and information available to them. It is a decision-making process that empowers individuals to look after their own health efficiently and conveniently, in collaboration with health and social care professionals as needed.
Self-care is important because having the ability to take care of yourself is an indication of your self-worth. There needs to be an understanding of your physical and mental health. The goal of taking care of oneself is to ensure that the individual remains healthy and able to function effectively, in order to lead a productive and fulfilling life.
Self-care is part of the answer to how we can all better cope with daily stressors, explains Kelsey Patel, a Los Angeles–based wellness expert and the author of the forthcoming book Burning Bright: Rituals, Reiki, and Self-Care to Heal Burnout, Anxiety, and Stress. It’s work stress. It’s the stress of trying to keep up with the pace of daily life, which technology has hastened more than ever (just think how many emails come flooding into your inbox each day). “People are feeling lonelier and less able to unwind and slow down, which makes them feel more anxious and overwhelmed by even the simplest tasks,” Patel says.
The WHO also mentions that self-care is a broad term and there are many facets of a person’s life that come into play, including:
For a person to practice true self-care, they must utilize personal responsibility and self-reliance in a way that positively impacts their health in the current moment and in the future.
Self-care encourages you to maintain a healthy relationship with yourself so that you can transmit the good feelings to others. You cannot give to others what you don’t have yourself. While some may misconstrue self-care as selfish, it’s far from that. When you pay adequate attention to your well-being, you’re not considering your needs alone. You’re reinvigorating yourself so that you can be the best version of yourself for the people around you. Everyone around you also benefits from the renewed energy and joy you exhibit.
Engaging in a self-care routine has been clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, improve concentration, minimize frustration and anger, increase happiness, improve energy, and more.
Self-care comes in a variety of forms. It does not require an elaborate plan; self-care can be as simple as taking a deep breath when you notice you are becoming stressed. By maintaining your physical and mental health, you will likely be better equipped to handle the stressors that come along with supporting someone you care about.
But by taking some time out to engage in self-care, you may relieve the pressures of everyday life and reset yourself to get back to a healthy point where productivity is once again maximized. Considering the costs associated with mental health services, lost wages and more, spending some time on yourself may ultimately benefit everyone.
Burning the candle at both ends, so-to-speak, comes with significant consequences, which may include but are not limited to burnout, depression, anxiety, resentment and a whole host of other negative implications.
From a physical health perspective, self-care has been clinically proven to reduce heart disease, stroke and cancer. Spiritually, it may help keep us in tune with our higher power as well as realize our meaning in life.
A self-care plan can help you enhance your health and wellbeing, manage your stress, and maintain professionalism as a worker with young people. Learn to identify activities and practices that support your wellbeing as a professional and help you to sustain positive self-care in the long-term.
By following a self-care plan, we take care of our holistic wellness — our mental, emotional and physical health. Taking time out of each day to nourish every part of ourselves helps us live healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives.
Learn about the importance of self-care. Educators are usually good at thinking about the well-being of others, but not about their own well-being – until it’s too late and they are sick or burnt out. Self-care means taking responsibility for yourself to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle at work and in your personal world through individually determined, proactive activities.
Determine your stress level. It’s important to recognize the presence of stress in your life and how it affects you. Many people don’t realize the effect that stress has on their lives and health. One quick way to assess your stress level is to complete the informal inventory below by checking off any effects of stress that you are currently experiencing.
Identify your stressors. Reflect on and make a list of what causes you stress in your work and personal life.
Engage in a personal reflection. Reflection on values and worldviews can directly affect our self-care, especially in the areas that include our ability to feel gratitude, our place in the natural world, and our acceptance of ourselves and others. Many people find solace and comfort in their deeper values, beliefs, and practices. The following series of questions is provided to help you reflect on a number of ways to view the world that may affect your self-care practice.
Make a commitment to yourself. Remember: Just like the flight attendant says, you need to put on your own oxygen mask first before you can be of help to others. So, take a moment, think it over, and then make your personal commitment to your own self-care. You deserve it!
If you find making a commitment to be a challenge, then take some time to explore your reservations. Do you have a tendency to put the needs of others first? The truth is that your self-care is not only essential to your well-being, but it is also a necessary element for you to be effective and successful in honoring your professional and personal commitments.
There are various forms of self-care that involve different activities or actions. Each form is as important as the other and drives optimal health and well-being.
The way you think and the things that you’re filling your mind with greatly influence your psychological well-being.
Mental self-care includes doing things that keep your mind sharp, like puzzles, or learning about a subject that fascinates you. You might find reading books or watching movies that inspire you fuels your mind.
Mental self-care is designed to drive a healthy mind by practicing brain-stimulating activities and healthy mental behaviors. When it comes to mental health, self-care is crucial for:
Taking care of your physical health is a form of self-care. This could include getting the proper amount of exercise, eating a diet that is full of nutrients and whole foods, or engaging in relaxing activities that can help to manage stress levels. Physical self-care also involves getting enough sleep.
Physical Self-Care Examples:
It’s important to have healthy coping skills to deal with uncomfortable emotions, like anger, anxiety, and sadness. Emotional self-care may include activities that help you acknowledge and express your feelings regularly and safely.
Whether you talk to a partner or close friend about how you feel, or you set aside time for leisure activities that help you process your emotions, it’s important to incorporate emotional self-care into your life.
Having healthy relationships is a form of self-care all its own. Research has shown that different forms of relationships, whether they be romantic, platonic, or familial, can all benefit overall health and well-being.
When looking at married couples specifically, studies have found that they are more likely to be in good physical and mental health than their unmarried counterparts. Married couples are also less likely to become ill or die of certain health conditions such as cancer, heart attacks, or surgery.
There isn’t a certain number of hours you should devote to your friends or work on your relationships. Everyone has slightly different social needs. The key is to figure out what your social needs are and to build enough time in your schedule to create an optimal social life.
Socialization is key to self-care. But, often, it’s hard to make time for friends and it’s easy to neglect your relationships when life gets busy.
A big part of self-care is committing to looking after your body and becoming more attuned with its needs. Whether it’s brushing your teeth, exercising more or getting enough sleep each night, part of any programme of self-care should focus on looking after your physical health.
What do taking your vitamins / supplements, getting lots of rest, exercising, mindfulness and taking a hot bath all have in common? They all activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System. When you activate the PNS it puts your body into ‘rest + restore’ mode, giving our bodies the chance to decompress from our generally hectic daily lives. The more we can incorporate these activities into our routines, the better we can cope with our hectic lifestyle and the less time we actually have to make ‘busy.’ All of this gives the body the opportunity to build its defenses against those nasty cold bugs that like to attack when we’re at our weakest.
As well as helping to calm your nerves, taking time to relax and look after yourself can have a positive impact on the way you see yourself: treating yourself with kindness can make you look upon yourself more kindly.
Studies have found that people with higher self-esteem find it easier to deal with setbacks and are more likely to achieve goals of self-improvement.
It makes sense if you think about it: the happier and healthier you are, the more you can give to a relationship.
This is especially important if you are a parent or carer5. It can be so easy to put someone else’s needs first, but you must look after your own health too.
How many times do you stop and think, what do I LOVE to do. What really lights me up? What can I do for myself that makes me feel good. A few of us can answer this pretty easily, but many cannot. As we grow up and leave ‘childhood’ behind we are conditioned to believe that play is for kids and that doing too much for ourselves is ‘selfish.
Slowing down can take many forms. Maybe it is saying no to commitments that don’t serve you, carving out time in your day for yoga or coffee with a friend or simply taking a few deep breaths before a meeting. All of these actions bring us back to the present moment and help us to re-focus on what is TRULY important.
Making time for relaxing activities, such as taking a warm bath, listening to music or practising yoga or meditation, is another common theme of self-care.
Any activity that makes you feel more relaxed can help to reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety and to lift your mood.
While the short-term benefits of self-care are good, the long-term benefits are what self-care is more focused on. Some long-term benefits include:
When you avoid things that make you feel mentally and physically well, you deplete your self-worth. Self-care is imperative in maintaining a healthy relationship with yourself and others. It produces positive feelings, which builds self-love, self-confidence and self-esteem.
Self-Care Ideas for a Bad Day
Common examples of self-care include: maintaining a regular sleeping routine, eating healthy, spending time in nature, doing a hobby you enjoy, and expressing gratitude. Self-care can look different for everyone, but to count as self-care, the behavior should promote health and happiness for you.
Self-compassion is applying the golden rule to yourself. It is to treat yourself in a way that you treat others. It is to respect, love, protect, and care for yourself each and every day. It is to let go of judgment and criticism and replace it with patience and gratitude.
In the end, taking care of ourselves is important for our well-being, and it can sometimes be easier said than done. It’s clear that we all have different methods for doing so, so if you have any tips that you’d like to share with us, please do! Care for yourself first, because you deserve it!
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