No amount of stress-relieving activities will help you if you don't take care of yourself. Meditation won't do you any good if you don't get enough sleep. When you're trying to meditate, you can take a nap because you're not caring about your body's need for sleep.
Likewise, going to the gym once in a while won't relieve much stress if you're not regularly feeding your body with healthy, nutrient-dense foods. If you want your stress relief activities to be effective, you need to take care of your basic needs first.
This article discusses some of the different types of self-care and why they are so important. It also includes some of the things you can do to create your self-care plan.
Webinar on mental health in the workplace:
On May 19, 2022, Very well Mind hosted a virtual webinar on mental health in the workplace hosted by Editor-in-Chief Amy Morin, LCSW. If you missed it, check out this recap for ways to foster a supportive work environment and helpful strategies to improve your workplace well-being.
What is self-care?
Self-care has been defined as “a multidimensional, multifaceted process of purposefully engaging in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being.” The term describes the conscious action a person takes to support their physical, mental, and emotional health.
Self-care can take many forms. It could make sure you get enough sleep every night or go outside for a few minutes in the fresh air.
Self-care is vital to building resilience to the stressors in life that you cannot eliminate. When you take steps to care for your mind and body, you will be better equipped to live your best life.
Unfortunately, however, many people view self-care as a luxury rather than a priority. As a result, they feel overwhelmed, tired, and ill-equipped to handle life's inevitable challenges.
It's important to assess how you're taking care of yourself in several areas, so you can be sure you're taking care of your mind, body, and spirit.
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. Finding a balance that allows you to address each of these areas is important to taking care of your health and well-being. Sometimes you may need more self-care in one particular area to restore balance or find relief from a stressor in your life.
Physical self-care:
You need to take care of your body if you want it to work efficiently. Keep in mind that there is a strong connection between your body and your mind. When you take care of your body, you will also think and feel better.
Physical self-care includes how you fuel your body, how much sleep you get, how much physical activity you do, and how well you take care of your physical needs. Attending health appointments, taking prescribed medications, and taking care of your health are all part of good physical self-care.2
When it comes to physical self-care, ask yourself the following questions to assess if there are areas you need to improve:
• Are you getting enough sleep?
• Does your diet supplement your body well?
• Do you care about your health?
• Do you get enough exercise?
Social self-care:
Socialization is key to self-care. But it's often hard to make time for friends, and it's easy to neglect your relationships when life gets busy.
Close relationships are important to your well-being. The best way to cultivate and maintain close relationships is to spend time and energy building your relationships with others
There is no certain number of hours you should spend with your friends or work on your relationships. Everyone has slightly different social needs. The key is to figure out what your social needs are and create enough time in your schedule to create an optimal social life.
To assess your social care for yourself, consider:
• Do you have enough face-to-face time with your friends?
• What do you do to nurture your relationships with friends and family?
Mental self-care:
The way you think and the things you fill your mind with greatly affect your mental well-being.
Self-care includes doing things that keep your mind sharp, like doing puzzles or learning about a subject that fascinates you. You may find reading books or watching movies that inspire you to fill your mind.
Self-care also includes doing things to help you stay mentally healthy. For example, practicing self-compassion and acceptance helps you maintain a healthier internal dialogue.
Here are some questions to consider when thinking about your mental self-care:
• Do you make enough time for activities that stimulate you mentally?
• Are you doing proactive things to help you stay mentally healthy?
Spiritual self-care:
Research shows that a lifestyle that includes religion or spirituality is generally healthier.
But caring for your spirit doesn't have to involve religion. It can include anything that helps you develop a deeper sense of meaning, understanding, or connection to the universe.
Whether you like to meditate, attend church, or pray, spiritual self-care is important.
As you reflect on your spiritual life, ask yourself:
• What questions do you ask about your life and experiences?
• Do you engage in spiritual practices that fulfill you?
Emotional self-care:
It is important to have healthy coping skills for unpleasant emotions such as anger, anxiety, and sadness. Emotional self-care can include activities that help you regularly and safely acknowledge and express your feelings.
Whether it's talking to a partner or close friend about how you're feeling, or setting aside time for leisure activities to help you process your emotions, it's important to incorporate emotional self-care into your life.6
When assessing your emotional self-care strategies, consider these questions:
- Do you have healthy ways of processing your emotions?
- Do you include activities in your life that help you feel energized?
- Why is self-care important?
An effective self-care routine has been shown to have several important health benefits. Some of these include:
• Reduction of anxiety and depression
• Reducing stress and improving resilience
• Improved luck
• Increasing energy
• Reducing burnout
• Stronger interpersonal relationships
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), self-care is important because it can help promote health, prevent illness and help people cope better with illness.
Specific forms of self-care are also associated with various health and wellness benefits, including longer life. Exercise, finding meaning in life, and sleep have all been linked to longer lifespans.
Develop your self-care plan:
An effective self-care plan should be tailored to your life and your needs. It has to be something created by you, for you. Customizing a self-care plan can act as a preventative measure to ensure you don't become overwhelmed, overwhelmed, and burned out.
Consider which areas of your life need more attention and self-care. And reevaluate your life often. As your situation changes, so will your self-care needs.
The following steps can help you create a self-care plan:
Assess your needs: Make a list of the different parts of your life and the main activities you do every day. Work, school, relationships, and family are some you could list.
Consider your stressors: Think about the aspects of these areas that are causing you stress, and consider some ways you could deal with that stress.
Come up with self-care strategies: Think of some activities you can do that will help you feel better in each of these areas of your life. Spending time with friends or developing boundaries, for example, can be ways to build healthy social bonds.
Plan Challenges: When you find yourself neglecting an aspect of your life, create a plan to 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 squeeze in one more thing, make self-care a priority. When you take care of all aspects of yourself, you will find that you can work more effectively and efficiently.
For advice on how to be human, press play
Hosted by the editor-in-chief and therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Very well Mind Podcast shares what it means to be "fully human," featuring GRAMMY-winning singer Le Ann Rimes. Click below to listen now.
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