Self-care, as the name suggests, involves taking care of yourself to ensure that your physical and emotional needs are met. All the anti-stress activities in the world won’t help you if you don’t take care of yourself. Meditation It won’t do you any good if you don’t get enough sleep. In fact, when you try to meditate, you may end up dozing off because you are not meeting your body’s sleep needs.
Likewise, hitting the gym every once in a while won’t relieve much stress if you don’t regularly fuel your body with healthy, nutrient-rich foods. You must take care of your basic needs first if you want your stress reduction activities to be effective.
This article discusses some of the different types of self-care and why they are so important. It also covers some of the things you can do to develop your own self-care plan.
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What is self-care?
Self-care has been defined as “a multidimensional and multifaceted process of focused engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being.” Essentially, self-care means a conscious act that people take to promote their own physical, mental and emotional health.
Good self-care can take many forms. This might include getting enough sleep each night or going outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air. It can also mean taking time to do the things you love to do.
Self-care is essential to building resilience towards those who stressors in life that cannot be eliminated. When you take steps to care for your mind and body, you will be better equipped to live your best life.
Unfortunately, many people view self-care as a luxury rather than a priority. As a result, they feel overwhelmed, tired and ill-equipped to face life’s inevitable challenges.
It’s important to evaluate how you’re taking care of yourself in several different areas to ensure you’re taking care of your mind, body, and spirit.
Very good / Brianna Gilmartin
Different types of self-care
Self-care isn’t just about finding ways to relax. It’s about taking care of yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. In order to take care of your health and well-being, it is important to find a balance that allows you to address each of these areas. Sometimes you may need more self-care in a specific area in order to restore balance or relieve a stressor in your life.
The seven pillars of self-care fall into the following areas: physical, social, mental, spiritual, emotional, recreational and environmental.
Why is self-care important?
An effective self-care routine has been shown to have many important health benefits. Some of them include:
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), self-care is important because it can help promote health, prevent disease, and better cope with illness.
Specific forms of self-care have also been linked to different health and well-being benefits, including longer life. Exercise, find a purpose in lifeand sleep are all linked to increased lifespan.
Develop your self-care plan
An effective self-care plan should be tailored to your life and needs. It has to be something you created, for you. Customizing your own self-care plan can act as a preventative measure to ensure you don’t feel overwhelmed, stressed and exhausted.
Evaluate areas of your life that need more attention and self-care. And reevaluate your life often. As your situation changes, your personal care needs will likely change as well.
As you develop your self-care plan, the following steps may be helpful:
- Evaluate your needs: Make a list of the different parts of your life and the main activities you participate in each day. Work, school, relationships, and family are a few you could list.
- Consider your stressors: Think about what aspects of these areas cause stress and think about some ways to manage that stress.
- Design self-care strategies: Think about some activities you can do that will help you feel better in each of these areas of your life. Spend time with friends or develop boundariesfor example, can be a way to build healthy social connections.
- Plan the challenges: When you discover that you are neglecting a certain aspect of your life, create a plan for change.
- Take small steps: You don’t have to tackle everything at once. Identify one small step you can take to start taking better care of yourself.
- Schedule time to focus on your needs: Even if you feel like you don’t have time to add anything more, make self-care a priority. When you take care of all aspects of yourself, you will find that you are able to function more effectively and efficiently.
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A word from Verywell
The demands of your daily life may dictate the type of self-care you may need most. A self-care plan for a busy student who feels constantly mentally stimulated and has a busy social life may need to emphasize physical self-care. A retired person, on the other hand, may need to incorporate more social care into their schedule to ensure their social needs are met.
Taking care of yourself is not a one-size-fits-all strategy. Your self-care plan will need to be tailored to your needs and what is currently happening in your life. You don’t want to wait until you reach your breaking point. The goal is to take steps every day to make sure you’re getting what you need to deal with the stresses and challenges you face in your daily life.
