What is self care?

Self care is taking time to care for oneself, mentally, physically and/or spiritually. It is a necessity not a hobby. Like most things in life, self care is not a one size fits all. We all have different personalities and therefore some of the ways we practice self-care, looks different.

Self care is not selfish. Self care does not have to be expensive (I list a bunch of free options below!). Self care does not have to stay the same your whole life. Our life goes through stages of change and so it is normal to change how you need to be taken care of.

Okay, so how beneficial is self care, really?

Very. The downside of not taking care of yourself is that it increases the risk of depression and anxiety, may cause burnout and may even increase resentment towards your peers, coworkers and/or loved ones. Not taking care of yourself can lead to increased or long term stress which impacts your body and its ability to be healthy.

Taking time to care of you, benefits you in a plethora of ways which then impacts how you interact with others, how you do your job and how you manage your home responsibilities. If fact one study focusing on medical students showed that the more students focused on self-care and increased the frequency, their stress levels decreased and quality of life increased (Erin E. Ayala et. al, 2018).

Common pitfalls to self-care and how to shift away from them

1. Lack of time
   • Change your perspective on this. Before kids, my self-care was 1 day off a week and doing whatever I wanted. However, now it is almost impossible to get a whole day off. So instead I fit my self care into mini pockets of time throughout the week.
     • For example:
       • Coffee shop for 1 hour on Tuesday
       • Meeting friend for walk Thursday morning after preschool drop off
       • Home mani/pedi/facial Sunday evening
2. Go big or go home
   • Doing a luxurious vacation once a year is not going to sustain you year round. Doing mindfulness 5 min a day will be more impactful. Crazy right? I’m not saying do not go on that trip if you have the chance (I definitely would!), but do not expect that one trip to hold you over for the next 365 days to follow. Remember that self-care means doing it consistently throughout the year.
3. Comparing you to her
   • There is a difference between being inspired and comparison. Looking for ideas and inspiration on how to do self-care is great but be careful of getting stuck thinking that self-care can only be done in one way or that it needs to match your friends. Everyone’s needs are different and everyone’s personal life (including finances, community, responsibilities etc.) is different. Find what works for you and know that it may take some time and that is okay. Some people love and can afford weekly massages while others do well with a cup of tea and a good library book, both work. Find what works for you without feeling the pressure to be like anyone else.

I hope this helps you get started on your self-care journey. I truly get how hard it can be to fit time for yourself and to make it a priority when life is so busy but I promise it is truly worth it.

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**Article reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6080382/