Self-Care
Updated: Jul 24, 2021
What is self-care? “The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself.” Diane Von Furstenberg How do you measure your self-worth? It’s not a selfish act to focus on doing you and giving yourself time to unwind, relax and simply breathe. Self-worth is about your internal state of being, it comes from having self-awareness and self-acceptance, think about how you value yourself and your mental health. Once you are aware of your self-worth, self-care is about maintaining that healthy relationship with yourself so that you produce positive emotions which boost’s overall self-esteem, self-worth and productivity. Taking time out of your day to focus on what matters to you gives you time to refresh, re-energize yourself and do what fulfils you. Currently, we are living through a pandemic with isolation and social distancing as a part of the now normal lifestyle for many people globally. During times like these, the importance of self-care can help us navigate through the struggles, manage our stress and maintain a state of mental health wellness. With the rise in mental health concerns globally due to the pandemic, its even more relevant to making sure that we are practising self-care. So how can we practice self-care habits? Every individual is unique and every unique individual takes pleasure and enjoyment in a variation of activities. For myself, my self-care is about planning in time for myself, to do what I truly love doing; which is creating. There are many ways in which we can practice self-care, having a bath, reading that book you never finished, writing, journaling, meditating, exercise and the list goes on and on. For some people self-care may not be as obvious, some people don’t have hobbies, and with the financial pressures placed upon them can cause a mental block to really focus on practising self-care. Having self-awareness isn’t about always being positive, we need to recognise and accept the negative emotions that we feel. After all, we are all human, we all have the highs and the lows, and self-awareness and acceptance can empower us to have hope that the lows won’t last. Practising self-care is about doing the things you love doing during the lows, but most importantly still practising your self-care habits throughout the highs, it isn’t about only doing things when you feel low in order to feel better, its about maintenance and overall mental health awareness and wellness. Genuine self-care involves recognizing and accepting all of our human emotions, finding ways in which we can grow and improve, by self-compassion. Sometimes we may need to make compromises and recognize that we aren’t perfect, it’s ok to do nothing sometimes-treat yourself with kindness when you don’t get everything on your to-do list done. Self-compassion involves managing the best you can, without the pressure or expectation of being unrealistically perfect- not everything always goes to plan and that is okay. In life, everything we do is about balance, and the first step to self-care is to recognize your emotional needs, and that self-compassion and kindness is a crucial part of our emotional, psychological and physical well-being. “Talk to yourself like you would talk to someone you love.” Brene Brown Here are some of the ways in which I practise self-care, self-love, self-compassion and grow deeper in love with who I am becoming:
Write down 50 positive qualities about yourself (Yes 50)
Morning positive affirmations- I have three that I repeat daily in the mirror
Evening gratitude diary- One positive memory, or something I’m grateful for each day
Plan in time to meditate- I personally try to meditate at least 3 times a week
Have a plan- I like to be productive and organised
Plan in special ‘ME’ dates (Artist dates)
Paint
Watch Disney movies
Exercise every morning
Yoga stretches twice a week
Journal my fears and worries
Recognise my negative self-talk
Embrace the lows, and allow me time to accept the emotions and sit with them
Avoid alcohol when I feel low
Look in the mirror and smile
Go for a walk with my partner or by myself
Have two bubble baths a week
Read new self-development books
Colour-in mandalas
Listen to my favourite playlist on Spotify (AND SING)
Dance around, be silly, laugh
Learn something new
Visualize my life when I reach my dreams