In today’s fast-paced world, feeling stressed is common. However most of us don’t cope with it effectively and our mind, soul, and body ends up paying a high price for it. Luckily there are many ways to manage stress and the main way is to practice self-care. I know what you’re thinking, “I don’t have time for that”. Trust me, I used to think the same. Being a full-time student plus having a full-time job, I barely had enough time for myself. Until finally I decided that I needed to practice self-care, even if it was just for a few minutes a day.
Society these days makes us think that self-care is this selfish luxurious thing that can only be attained by having expensive vacations, booking spa treatments, shopping, or treating ourselves with a nice pumpkin spice latte. Honestly, these indulgences are great and make us feel satisfied for a while, but they’re not actually recovering us from the burnout stress we’re experiencing. Self-care can be practiced in a variety of forms and can be as simple as closing your eyes and taking a nice deep breath.
What REALLY is Self-Care & What it Means?
Self-care is simply taking care of ourselves. It sounds so simple, yet many of us struggle doing so! The first step of self-care is acknowledging that we need to relax. For the most part, we are in denial when our partner or colleague at work tells us this and we take it the wrong way, but the truth is that they’re probably right! After acknowledging, we can start practicing self-care strategies to help take care of our mind, soul, and body. If you’re having trouble making time for self-care, set out a time or specific day of the week to practice self-care. For example, you can have “Self-Care Sunday’s” dedicated to taking time for yourself. Check out below, my “Ultimate Guide for Self-Care”, (feel free to pin it to your Pinterest board):
Other Tips for Self-Care:
- Sleep Early
- Take a Warm Bath
- Watch your favorite movie
- Invest in your hobbies
- Bake a cake
- Do a DIY Face-Mask
- Listen to a positivity podcast
- Go on a hike
- Log off all Social Media
- Spend more time with your loved ones
Learning to Say “NO”:
Self-care can also mean learning to say “no”. If you’re a people pleaser like me this can be extremely difficult, but you can start with baby steps. Ask yourself, am I doing this for me or am I doing it because I am afraid I will let someone down? Saying “no” to something you don’t want to do isn’t a bad thing and it doesn’t have to come off rude. At my last job, I would always admire my colleague when he would say “no” to extra hours of work and extra shifts. Yet by me saying “yes”, I found myself overwhelmed with stress, burnout, and even physically sick at some points. I would always find it easier to say “yes” rather than saying “no”, as saying “no” requires boldness and confidence.
Self-care comes with being assertive about what you want and don’t want. If you’re having trouble, try taking baby steps by saying “no” to your sibling or friend to an activity you don’t want to do rather than starting with your boss at work. Trust me it gets easier with time and practice! Not only does saying “no” help you with confidence, but it also helps you set boundaries and balance in your life.
Asking for Help:
Self-care is also learning when to ask for help. If you’re independent and a bit stubborn like me, you refuse to ask for help until you’re at your breaking point. Just like a car we need to fuel our gas before it runs out! At some point, even the best of us can’t handle everything on our plate and we need to take a step back and ask for help. Asking for help can be something as simple as asking your loved one to do chores, while you try to get an extra hour of sleep because you got burnout from work the night before. Asking for help also comes with changing your mindset. Most of us believe that we simply don’t deserve to have the luxury to receive help from others. For your own health and sanity, it’s a crucial part of self-care knowing and understanding when you need help.
Why Self-Care is Important…
Self-care means taking care of yourself and by taking care of yourself it allows you to take care of everything else. We can not give to others without filling our own cup first. When our mind, soul, and body are depleted we feel overwhelmed, exhausted, angry, and distressed. Without practicing self-care you will encounter long-term stress which can take a toll on your health. Long-term stress can cause you headaches and affect your sleep, blood pressure, immune system, etc. Remember that only you know what you need and your well-being is in your hands. No one knows your stress and overwhelmingness except you. It’s your responsibility to fill your own cup and take the time to do things that feed your mind, soul, and body.
Signs you need it:
- Your sleep pattern is off
- Irritability
- Lack of Appetite
- You’re having trouble focusing on simple tasks
- Moodiness
- People are not enjoying your company
- You haven’t smile in days
- Feeling weak and overwhelmed
Self-care is for everyone! It doesn’t matter whether you’re a single mother, a nurse, a student, a teacher, etc. YOU ARE WORTHY and you deserve to spend time as you choose. Stop looking for reasons or excuses before allowing yourself to take a breather and relax. Practicing self-care is far from being selfish, in fact, it’s part of survival. It will bring out the best in you and you will find that now you can easily give 100% to your family, relationship, friends, and job. It’s nature’s laws, that the more we do for ourselves the more we can do for others. Remember that we only get one life, so might as well enjoy it!
What does self-care mean to you? How do you practice self-care? Share your tips and insights below! ❤️
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