Self care is any activity you do to positively take care of your physical, emotional, and mental health. Caring for yourself is essential.
Unfortunately, we may receive various messages that don’t support this, such as, it’s selfish to focus on ourselves, it’s not worth it, it doesn’t contribute to productivity, there’s no time, it’s only allowed if we are “good” or finish our work, etc. And yet, self care practices can help to reduce stress, help your immune system, increase productivity and focus, improve mood, and so much more. Caring for ourselves can also help us be more present for others in our life too. Just like when you fly, they say to put on your oxygen mask before you try to help anyone else. You'd be no help to others if you didn't care for yourself first on the plane.
I’m a strong advocate for self care.
Caring for you is sooooo worth it.
There's so many different ways to engage in self care. Self care can be physical self care (exercise, sleep, medical attention), psychological self care (psychotherapy, journal, saying "no"), emotional self care (positive affirmations, social contact), spiritual self care (reflection, prayer, meditate), workplace/professional self care (take a break, talk to co-workers), etc.