Self-care has been a concept that has slowly started increasing in importance over the past few years. People have started recognizing that their own well being is important.
What is not self-care?
Before diving deeply into what self-care is, I believe it is important for people to understand what others have misinterpreted as taking care of themselves.
When you think of what self-care is, what do you think of? I assume it is of spa days, massages, and face masks. While that may be the main message on social media, the truth is much more than that.
On social media, we may see influencers posting pictures of themselves taking care of themselves through different products such as face masks or healing crystals. While they may work for some people, I criticize how they are advertised to make it seem like a panacea for our health. These testimonials are not indicative of success for how it may work for others. They should point towards proven methods that may help others.
What is self care?
When people hear the words self-care, they immediately think of caring for yourself. However, the definition of self-care differs with each person. Some definitions are very detailed while others are very broad.
I think taking care of ourselves requires taking care of our physical, mental, social, spiritual, and emotional health. We must take care of all these parts of our lives or our own care will suffer. It can range from small things like brushing your teeth every day to more serious topics like seeing a therapist.
Here are some popular self-care ideas:
Physical self-care
- Going to the gym
- Run
- Meditation
- Dance party
- Sleep
- Eat nutritious meals
Mental self-care
- Journaling
- Read a book
- Listen to music
- Mindfulness
Social self-care
- Hang out with friends
- Seeing a therapist
- Think about your significant other
Spiritual self-care
- Go to your place of worship
- Volunteer
- Daily Mantras
- Write down your values and beliefs
Emotional self-care
- Gratitude Jar. Fill a jar with parts of your life that you are thankful for.
- Write down a list of your values
- Mirror Messages
- Social Media Detox
- Practice saying no
- Boundaries
Self-care routine
Here is my quick list of how I build my self-care routine that may help you.
1. Preparation
This is the opportunity to think about the importance and reasons behind your own care. When we recognize the reasons behind making a change, we are more likely to continue to build on positive behavior change
I was trained on using the 5W’s and 1 H. This is who, what, when, where, why, and how. These six questions can help a person find out what is important to them. Check out more information on these ideas here.
2. Experiment
This is the part where a person takes the time to test out what strategies they have envisioned as part of their self-care. This is the part where you test one idea at a time. If an idea works for you, great! Even if you find one idea that works for you, continue to try out more ideas until you have a few ideas. In case one idea does not work out, you have others to fall upon.
One concern many people have is around failure during the experimentation stage. I want everyone to know that it’s normal to fail. For some, they may find their routines right away. For others, it may take a little longer. However, I believe it’s better to get it slow and right than fast and wrong. You are one step closer towards finding ideas that work for you. To be honest, you are expected to fail because not every idea works for everyone.
For me, I go to the gym a few times a week. However, if you live far from a gym, you may have to find alternative ideas. You and I are different people and we should treat our plans differently.
3. Take Action
You may want to take a deep breath during this stage. This is after you have experimented with different ideas in the previous stage. You will want to go slowly and at a pace that you feel comfortable with. This is the date you set to commit to making a change. Be patient with yourself and find support among your friends and family when it gets tough.
4. Maintenance
After being successful at maintaining your self-care routine for a while, you have reached the maintenance phase. Though you have been successful, continue to work every day towards your own well being. There will be times when your self-care activities may not work and it may be tough. Learn from each experience to be prepared for the next challenge.
Check out more here!
Good luck! Let me know down in the comments what self-care you would be interested in trying out.
Wen is a Certified Health and Wellness Coach who helped people change their behaviors. He brings experience from educating people about their physical health, nutrition, sexual health, and substance use. As a coach, he has worked with over one hundred clients in changing their tobacco use and had over five hundred conversations as a crisis counselor.
