What is Self-Care
Table of Contents
Overview
Self-care is an individualized experience and is ultimately about taking a pause to do what you need to to be happier, calmer, and healthier.
Self-care is an activity that supports a person’s emotional, mental and physical health. An individual’s self-care activities are essentially a personalized wellness program.
The main goal of self-care is to prevent or control disease and preserve overall well-being through the consistent act of taking care of various verticals of one’s own health and well-being.
About Self-Care
Self-care is about:
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- Prioritising one’s physical and mental health
- Adopting healthy lifestyle habits that can be maintained long-term
- Eating a healthy diet
- Finding exercise activities that you enjoy and participating in them regularly
- Getting an adequate amount of good-quality sleep
- Following treatment plans for existing conditions accordingly
- Taking time out for yourself to participate in healthy activities you enjoy
Types of Self-Care
The seven types of self-care are:
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- Emotional self-care
- Physical self-care
- Mental self-care
- Social self-care
- Spiritual self-care
- Practical self-care
- Professional self-care
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What Counts as Self-Care, and What Doesn’t
Self-care varies from person to person but essentially, self-care is anything that promotes overall health, connection, and wellness.Â
On the other hand, things that contribute to anxiety or stress, encourage toxicity in relationships, or even just drain our energy are the opposite of self-care.Â
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Self-care is not using substances such as alcohol or pills to numb feelings or indulging in excessive spending for a momentary rush.
Self-care involves:
These are a few examples of self-care
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- getting enough sleep
- eating healthy food
- drinking plenty of water
- getting regular exercise
- reading a book
- learning a new hobby or skill
- listening to a podcast
- journaling
- listening to music
- engaging in prayer and meditation
- self-reflection
- spending time with family and friends
- calling loved ones
- trying new hobbies and joining groups to meet and socialize with others
What are the Benefits of Self-Care?
Reduced stress. Activities that help with stress management include a brisk walk after work or turning off email notifications in the evenings and on days off.
Increased well-being. Self-care can have a cascade effect, meaning an improvement in one aspect of a person’s well-being, such as their mental health, can contribute to improved well-being in other aspects, including their physical and emotional health.
Sense of accomplishment. Setting goals and achieving them can boost a person’s confidence.
Improved health. Self-care activities can help a person manage their physical and emotional health, which can lead to better long-term disease management. They can also help prevent illness.
Healthy relationships. Burnout can cause anger, depression and other negative emotions to seep into an individual’s personal and professional relationships. Conversely, self-care can help strengthen a person’s relationships with their family and colleagues.
Professional satisfaction. When a person takes care of themselves physically and emotionally, they are better able to be effective at their job.
