If you are like most people, you probably don’t spend too much time thinking about self-care. With the hustle and bustle of everyday life it can be easy to push self-care to the side because most of us are not aware of its importance. Self-care means that you are ensuring that your physical, mental, spiritual, social, and emotional needs are being met. Self- care can help you build resilience towards the stressors in life that cannot be eliminated, increase your energy, and lower your risk of illness. When you take the steps to care for your mind and body, you are better equipped to handle life's challenges. Self-care can take on many forms. For some people, self-care involves ensuring that they are getting enough sleep each night, eating a nutritious meal, or dedicating a few minutes each day to enjoy their favorite hobby. What you consider to be self-care should depend on your own individual needs and what you need in your life in order to restore and maintain balance. Unfortunately, self-care is often looked at like a luxury as opposed to a priority. In our society, many people feel pressure to constantly stay productive which can ultimately take away opportunities to engage in self-care. This leads many of us to feel overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, exhausted, resentful, and unprepared for life's challenges. Taking time out of your daily routine to engage in self -care can help relieve the pressures from everyday life. Self-care is how we restore balance and connect with others, relax, and have fun.
Having a healthy self-care routine has been linked to many important health benefits like:
Reducing stress
Reducing burnout
Reducing anxiety
Reducing depression
Reducing frustration
Reducing risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer
Improving resilience
Improving physical health
Increasing happiness
Increasing energy
Improved mental and emotional well-being
Increased productivity and focus
Increased self-esteem
Stronger relationships with others
Self-care is essential for maintaining good mental health because it provides an opportunity to relax, rejuvenate, and engage in activities that make us feel happy and fulfilled. When you prioritize your well-being, you are more likely to have the energy and focus you need in order to be productive and have the emotional resources needed to better support your interpersonal relationships. Certain forms of self-care like exercise and sleep have even been shown to be connected to an increased immune system and lifespan.
There are a lot of ways you can engage in self-care:
Physical - Physical self-care includes nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and any other activity that would care for your physical needs.
Social - Social self-care involves putting in the time and energy to build up our relationships with others.
Mental - Mental self-care is doing things that help you stay mentally healthy like practicing self-acceptance or repeating positive affirmations.
Spiritual - Spiritual self-care can, (but doesn't have to) involve religion. It can be anything that nurtures your spirit and helps you develop a sense of meaning, understanding, or connection with the universe. Examples of spiritual self-care include meditation, yoga, or doing good deeds for others.
Emotional - Emotional self-care involves activities that help you acknowledge and express your feelings. Talking to someone, reflecting, writing poetry, or listening to music are all examples of emotional self-care.
Environmental - environmental self-care involves connecting with the world around you. Going for a walk, picking up litter, or going for a night drive are all examples of environmental self-care.
Financial - Financial self-care helps you feel better about your money and make choices that support your life. Examples include developing a financial plan, opening a savings account, asking for a raise, etc.
Intellectual - Intellectual self-care involves activities that stimulate the mind and encourage critical thinking. Examples include reading books, watching documentaries, completing puzzles, and more.
Occupational - Occupational self-care will help you feel more fulfilled by your career. Things like learning a trade, getting a degree, applying for your dream job, or asking for a promotion are all forms of occupational self-care.
Creating your own self-care plan can help prevent feelings of being overwhelmed, stressed, and burnt out. No two self-care plans will look the same. Your self-care plan should be tailored to you and your own specific needs. In order to create your own self-care plan that is right for you, the first step is to assess your needs. Reflect on the different areas of your life and the major activities that are a part of your daily routine like work, family, and/or school. Then consider what your stressors are, how they cause you stress, and potential ways to address the stress. Then you will plan your self-care strategies. Consider some activities that you can engage in that may help you feel better in each of the areas in your life. For example, if you are feeling depleted at work, you may want to consider developing boundaries with your coworkers. Once you create your plan, it's time to take action. Start small, you don't need to tackle everything on your list in one day. Instead, identify the steps you can take to begin a better self-care routine. Finally, schedule the time to focus on your needs. One of the most common reasons why people do not participate in regular self-care is because of a lack of time. Even when you feel like there is absolutely no time to fit self-care in, try to make self-care a priority. Even if you only have 5-minutes here or there to engage in self-care, it will always be better than nothing at all. When you are taking the time to care for yourself, everything else becomes a little easier to manage.
Self-care is extremely important. Without appropriate nutrition, physical activity, sleep, etc., the question changes from if you will burn out to when you will burn out. Don't wait until you have reached your breaking point. Take steps every day to make sure that you are getting your needs met so that you can deal with all the challenges life throws at you.
At Cutting Edge Counseling of the North Shore, we're proud to offer our services to clients in Northbrook and the surrounding communities, including Glenview, Deerfield, Highland Park, Wheeling, Northfield, Glencoe, Winnetka, Buffalo Grove, Riverwoods, Lincolnshire, Prospect Heights, Vernon Hills, Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights, and Des Plaines. Our commitment is to provide personalized and effective therapy to help you achieve your goals.
Written By,
Tierney Puig, LPC
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