You’ve likely heard the term ‘self-care’ a lot. The stereotypical idea of self-care is sometimes portrayed as splurging on skin-care products or other gifts for oneself. While that could be part of someone’s self-care, it’s actually a lot more simple, yet multifaceted than that.
Self-care is a deliberate activity done in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.
The act of self-care itself isn’t selfish; it’s necessary for our wellbeing and it takes on many different forms. The important thing to remember about self-care is that it is about listening to what your mind and body need.
Physical Self-Care is the most basic and important form of self-care that you can practice. It can be as simple as brushing your teeth in the morning or taking a warm shower. Once you’re able to practice good physical self-care, you’ll then be able to adopt other forms of self-care into your routine as well.
Three important elements of physical self-care are (or rather what I think are) - power naps, fast food recipes at home and a revenge body!
Tips to practice physical self-care
1. Get Enough Rest
The most important of ALL: Prioritising your sleep. Most people know firsthand that sleep affects their mental state. After all, there’s a reason it’s said that someone in a bad mood “woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” Also, one should get enough rest during the day. This might mean taking several short breaks each day, so that they can return to their work with more energy and a clearer mind.
How many hours of sleep do you get daily?
Assuming that you are a college student, are there other challenges to your physical self-care that are affected?
2. Eat Well and Stay Hydrated
Eating healthy is all about balance. Food that makes you feel nourished and taken care of is important, but so is treating yourself from time to time. Along with full, balanced meals, it’s good to drink a lot of water throughout the day.
Fun question - what does the cow drink? (If you said milk you aren’t alone!)
Copykat.com gives you recipes for fast-food like Mcdonald's, Starbucks, Taco bell, etc.
Any comfort food that you enjoy when feeling stressed or low?
Favourite childhood meal that you enjoyed with your family.
3. Move Your Body
Even a short 15-30 minute walk around your neighbourhood is a great way to take care of your body daily.
At the most basic level of self-care, maintaining your physical self-care is the most important. Taking care of your body in these ways can make a significant difference in your overall mental health.
Channeling your energy and putting that into your workout-mode!
Power saving when needed!
Selectively optimising things when needed!
Why is it still difficult for us to practice self-care?
There are a myriad of reasons why we may not take care of ourselves well.
Maybe we've always relied on others to take care of us, or we never really picked up the good habits as a kid and we struggle to pick them up now.
Maybe the experiences we go through saps us of energy we need for ourselves.
At any time, few things come naturally to us. For example, we don't even think now when we walk but when we first tried out our legs they wouldn't go where we wanted them to and kept wobbling and collapsing.
Changing habits we’ve been stuck in for a long time can be challenging.
But you CAN do it.
“But how?” you may be asking yourself.
The best way to make any behaviour change is to make it as simple as possible, realistic, and achievable. What does this mean? It means making sure you’re not expecting something that isn’t going to be feasible in your day to day life.
Start small.
Below is a list of self-care ideas. Choose even one item that you think you could squeeze into your day.
Maybe try to implement something in the morning so you know you won’t run out of time before you have a chance to do it. The key here is just to try.
Are you going to do it perfectly every day? Of course not. Maybe you tried one of these ideas, and it just didn’t give you the peaceful boost you were hoping for. Then try another idea below. Keep trying until you find something that gives you the result you’re looking for.
Pay attention to how you feel after you take time to attend to yourself. What do you notice in the rest of your day? Are you finding you are calmer and more patient with others? Are you sleeping better at night? The more we do something, the more likely it is to become a positive habit. This is the secret with self-care — making it a habit so it’s something we wouldn’t second guess doing, just like eating dinner is something we don’t typically feel guilty prioritising.
Self-care ideas
Take five minutes to sit down and put your feet up
Stand in the shower with the hot water pouring over your back
Ask your spouse or partner for a foot rub or back massage
Go for a walk over your lunch break
Listen to a meditation podcast (“Insight Timer” is a free app for meditations)
Take an Epsom salt bath
Schedule a date night with your spouse, partner, or friends to connect without distractions
Enjoy a hot cup of beverage
Listen to songs with repetitive affirmations
Spend five minutes taking deep breaths
Get a manicure or pedicure done or give yourself one
Turn your phone off for 30 minutes
Participate in a yoga class
Write in a journal for five minutes
Read a book for 20 minutes
Go to bed 15 minutes early
Unfollow someone on social media who makes you feel badly about yourself
If you are feeling overwhelmed in thinking about how to make changes to better prioritise your own self-care, help is available. Especially if you are struggling with mental health concerns, it can be really hard to find the energy or motivation to start making changes to better yourself. Seeing a therapist can help you break down your goals into easier, achievable steps, and support you in this goal of making yourself a priority.
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