Self-Care: More Than Being Selfish

Self-care shouldn’t be a choice, even though we all have busy work schedules, demanding family lives, and limited time to be able to manage our daily chores. If we are aware of its benefits, we should consider making it a habit. We may think who has time to take care of themselves until we see a perfect-looking family while shopping or a post from a friend who seems to have it all. The sad truth is that most of the time, seeing others managing their lives better than us doesn’t help us. It may depress us even more. So, what does self-care mean, and how can we make more time for it?

Self-care is any activity that we do to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. As a result, we feel better and face our challenges more effectively. When we feel good, we become more positive and motivated. Some people don’t practice it at all; some people do it at specific periods of their lives. I’m sure we have so many examples around us who give up taking care of themselves when they marry or have kids. I agree that when we marry our priorities change; however, we are still responsible for our happiness, and we should still take care of ourselves physically and emotionally.

When we have so many things going on with our lives, we may give up on our hobbies, friendships, or daily routines. If this is something temporary, that’s understandable; however, if we forget to take care of ourselves totally and dedicate our lives to our husbands, parents, kids, or other things, we may create long-term unhappiness. What we forget is, if we are not happy, we can’t make anyone happy. For example, when we fly, we all have to listen to safety warnings about emergency landings, and how to use the oxygen masks. The flight attendant says, “Please place the mask over your own mouth and nose before assisting others.” We should have the same logic for self-care to take care of others: first, we need to take care of ourselves.

Here are some simple self-care activities that we can effortlessly apply to our lives and see their benefits quickly.

Physical self-care

We all need to be physically healthy to be able to do any activity. So, we need to take care of our bodies. Sleeping at least 7 hours a day, exercising, and eating nutritious food are some of the few steps we can easily take. It sounds simple, but their impact on our lives is undeniable. Also, when we look in the mirror, we should love ourselves. We can put on some makeup, wear the clothes that give us joy, and treat ourselves with a manicure and pedicure once in a while. In this way, we will feel more confident and happier. A healthy body will lead us to have a healthy mind.

Emotional self- care

We are not robots, so it is easy to feel distracted and stressed over personal and work issues. So, we all need to learn to be more resilient when things get tough. Life is not perfect; we will have some ups and downs. The only thing we can do to reduce the impact of the negative events is to learn some of the coping skills. We need to get to know ourselves, identify our weaknesses, and improve ourselves as much as possible. Learning how to manage stress and become aware of our actions will help us to find proper solutions that fit our needs. One of the most recommended activities is journaling. I know, who wants to write about all of the annoying events they have in their lives? However, this is the most effective way to empty our minds. Also, meditation is another activity that is recommended by many health organizations. Since we are talking about self-care, you may want to try meditation for self-love. On the other hand, creating a tidy and organized environment at work and home will change our mood. So, taking little actions will make a ripple effect on our emotional health.

Social self- care

We have to be careful with whom we surround ourselves because the people around us and the activities we do shape our lives. If possible, we should eliminate the people from our lives who drain our energy. Primarily, we need to avoid social media if we can because we are wasting our time watching other people’s lives. Social media has more negative impacts than positive ones, so if we can, we should reduce the time we spend on it and remove it from our lives. Unfortunately, it becomes an addiction and creates unrealistic expectations. Our goal should be having positive friends and families around us with whom we can spend quality time. To me, social self-care means eliminating the things and people from our lives that don’t take us one step forward.

Overall, everyone can define and create their self-care routine, such as: sleeping well, spending time with the loved ones, spending their money wisely, having hobbies, exercising, meditating, journaling, eating healthy, learning new skills for our work, and decluttering our lives of the people and things that don’t serve us anymore. It doesn’t mean we are selfish; it means we are on our way to becoming emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy to become better parents, partners, and family members. As Charles Buxton says, “You will never find time for anything, if you want time, you must make it.” I hope we can all make time for some self-care. When we start practicing it, we will immediately experience its positive impacts. As we practice self- care, it will become part of our lives.