What is Self-Care?
Self-case is often associated with scented candles and long baths which can be inviting for some and unappealing for others. Practicing self-care is much broader than this and it’s personal so it will vary for each of us. It’s not about indulgence that offers a short-term buzz, but wholesome activities that are meaningful to us and help our sense of wellbeing for longer than just the moment we are doing it.
Self-care involves taking conscious and deliberate action to do things that support and improve our wellbeing. Whatever actions you choose to focus on, self-care works best with practice and sustained effort rather than being a quick fix. Sometimes it can be hard to know where to start and this can create stress. We don’t want more stress! So here’s an overview of five ways to practice self-care t help you get started.
Why Does Self-Care Matter?
Often people tell me they feel selfish for taking time out for themselves. The truth is, we need to be able to take care of ourselves to be able look after others. When we are tired, run down, stressed or unwell, it is much harder for us to give our best to anyone else. By practicing self-care, we set ourselves up to feel the best we can and in doing so, we are in a stronger position to give our best to others – whether at home, work or in our social circles.
Self-care is for ourselves. But if focusing on it in this ways makes it feel selfish or negative, then to start with, it can be helpful to consider who else gains from you taking care of yourself.
How to Practice Self-Care.
As with any new habit, it can be hard to know where to start. Here are five key areas of wellbeing that you may like to focus on to help with taking a holistic approach to self-care for a healthier lifestyle.
Physical Wellbeing
Our physical and mental health both affect each other. For example, being in pain can impact on our mood and make us feel low, and feeling unwell can cause us to feel anxious about our health. Low mood can cause us to feel tired and lack energy, feeling anxious or stressed can cause us tension, muscle pain and headaches. We can end up in vicious cycles. Practicing self-care for our physical health therefore has broader and more holistic benefits for us than our physical health alone.
Self-care for physical health could involve improving our diet by trying out new recipes, following a meal plan or batch cooking; keeping ourselves hydrated by drinking more water and reducing caffeine and alcohol; or increasing our physical activity by taking regular breaks away from our desk to stretch, walking more, going to the gym or joining an exercise class.
When focusing on making changes, the temptation can be do to more. However, it may be helpful at times to do less and remove things from our activities. For example, we may free up time to create more opportunity for rest and getting into a good sleep routine.
Emotional Wellbeing
Focusing on our emotional wellbeing involves taking time to notice how we feel emotionally and then taking actions to help improve the way we feel. Self-care for our emotional wellbeing might involve carving out time alone to reflect on our feelings by journaling, talking to someone we trust, working through self-help resources or working with a therapist.
If we’re aware of unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, emotional self-care may involve gently challenging these by finding ways to be kinder to ourselves. If we tend to avoid or bottle up our feelings, we may find ways to try noticing and expressing our feelings instead. Or if we are emotionally reactive, we might try to find strategies to self-sooth and reflect before making decisions or communicating our views.
Social Wellbeing
As humans, we are social beings and having a sense of connection and belonging is important for our wellbeing. Self-care for our social wellbeing may include making plans with people we enjoy spending time with; taking time out to connect with loved ones by phone, message or video calls; reconnecting with old friends; or finding opportunities to make new connections with others.
They key thing about this area of self-care is that these are actions we want to take for our own wellbeing, not actions we are taking because we feel we have to.
Spiritual Wellbeing
Being spiritual can be linked to faith or religious beliefs but it doesn’t have to be. It may be linked to our sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, such as the wider community or the planet. Self-care for spiritual wellbeing could include spending time in nature, volunteering for a charity you value, listening to music, or meditating.
All self-care if personal and what you do to look after your spiritual needs will depend on what spirituality means to you as an individual.
Personal Development
This fifth area is about growth and development. We are forever learning and growing and doing this actively has been linked with improved wellbeing through increased sense of achievement, self-esteem and confidence. Self-care around personal development involves taking time to focus on our passions and interests, and maintaining motivation to develop our skills and abilities. This may include reading, taking time to self-reflect through journaling, or signing up to a course you’ve been thinking about for a while.
This may well overlap with the other categories. Taking a language class, for example, may also support social self-care from building new relationships. If it helps you feel connected to another culture or opens up travel opportunities, this may become a form of spiritual self-care. Pursuing a sport may help you develop in personal confidence, while also supporting physical self-care through building strength and stamina. If it provides you with a sense of calm or peace, or provides an outlet, this may also tip into emotional self-care.
Personalised Self-Care Practices
There are no set rules to taking good care of yourself. These five ways to practice self-care are prompts to help you think about what you might like to do for yourself.
Taking time out for yourself is an important way to find balance between self-care and your responsibilities, such as work or caring for others. The key to achieving this is recognising and acknowledging that you matter. There is only one of you. You need and deserve this time to support your mental health and wellbeing. Once you start to notice the benefits of intentional self-care, it becomes easier to build self-care habits that allow you to take regular time to take care of yourself.
Updated July, 24.
