Self-care is a word most of us have used or heard of. It is all about taking care of you- so you can be at your healthiest! By practicing self care it allows you to do your job effectively, focus, put the time and energy into your relationships.
By practicing self-care daily you can in turn cope better with daily stress. This is not selfish. It does not have to take hours. Self-care is anything you can think of doing that helps replenish and make you feel nourished.
How do I know when I need to practice self-care?
I think we all need to be checking in with ourselves more often. We need to be asking ourselves the questions:
How am I doing in this moment? What am I feeling?
How is my body feeling? What does it need?
How are my stress levels?
If you notice you are having a difficult day, your body feels tense or sore, you feel parched, your feel stressed or anxious, etc- then that should be an indicator you need to take a pause and practice self care. By doing this through out the day, you are going to be able to cope with the daily stressors of the day easier.
“When self-care is regularly practiced, the benefits are broad and have even been linked to positive health outcomes such as reduced stress, improved immune system, increased productivity, and higher self-esteem,”
Brighid Courtney
Physical Self-care
Physical self-care is making sure you are paying attention to your physiological health and performance. This includes sleep, movement, nutritional health, and hygiene.
- Identify how much sleep you need each night
- Create a nighttime routine
- Trying not to deviate from your sleep routine/schedule
- Eat foods with good nutritional value
- Cut down on junk & sugar
- Eat mindfully
- Drink enough water
- Get physical movement- try for 20-30 minutes per day.
- Join a sport
- Yoga
- Nightly stretching
- Massage
- Baths
Emotional Self-care
Emotional self care is all about taking care of your emotional health, being able to be more aware of your emotions, expressing your feelings.
- Gratitude journal- express positive emotions
- Feelings journal
- Acceptance of feelings
- Focusing on the positive of a experience
- Choosing to react with love, kindness, empathy
- Knowing your triggers for emotions
- Being assertive
- Practicing reflective listening
- Coping skills- such as grounding. For difficult emotions
- Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing
- Talking to a loved one.
Spiritual Self-care
Maintaining spiritual self-care includes trying to maintain a healthy relationship with your inner self and your values/beliefs, connecting with the higher power you believe in, and finding purpose in your life.
- Meditate
- Attend services
- Pray
- Identify your values
- Making sure your behaviors match your values
- Maintain a strong self of belief in your abilities
- Focus on building your self esteem
- Maintain boundaries
- Identify what your higher power is
- Identifying what you are about in the world- make a plan to engage in these things.
Mental/ psychological Self-care
Practicing mental self-care is all about your brain health. This includes taking care of both your left brain (where your facts, language are) and your right brain (where your creativity, imagination, etc lives), your memory, and over all mental health such as anxiety, depression, etc.
- Eating well to support brain and body health.
- Reading a book
- Mental stimulation: Solving a puzzle, reading, brain teasers, etc.
- Seeking therapy to help maintain your well-being.
- Talk to your loved ones about your mental health.
- Use affirmations
- Stay involved in your community
- Healthy sleep
- Intellectual self-care: take time to learn a new skill, taking time to learn about things you are interested in, journaling, being open to new ideas and experiences.
- Creative self care: using your imagination, art, challenging yourself with out of the box thinking.
Social Self-care
Social self-care is all about your relationships with others including romantic relationships.
- making connections
- join groups
- see friends
- meet new people
- maintain personal values in your relationships
- assertive communication
- saying no to things that go beyond your comfort
- respecting personal space
- maintain boundaries.
Professional Self-care
By practicing professional self-care you are ensuring that you are able to main meaning and joy in your work.
- saying no
- clear boundari4s
- work breaks
- work set up
- maintain healthy relationships with work colleagues
- comfortable environment.
- Work routine
- Work life balance
Financial Self-care
- saving
- budgeting
- money tracking
- paying bills
- set up financial goals
Personal Self-care
Personal self care is all about what you know about yourself and what you enjoy doing
- Hobbies
- Treating yourself to something small
- Trying something knew
- Date yourself
Blog Disclaimer – These posts are not meant to treat, diagnose, or serve as a replacement for therapy. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, please contact your local crisis center or dial 911. Here are more immediate resources as well.
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