Why is Self-Care Such a Big Deal?

You hear about self-care everywhere these days. People tell you to take care of yourself so you can take care of others. But what exactly is self-care? Maybe you think of long baths or marathon episodes of your favorite Netflix show. By definition, self-care is an intentional act one takes in order to promote their own physical, mental, and emotional health. And during this time of the year, especially THIS year, when things are at an elevated level of stress and anxiety already, it’s so important to keep yourself balanced.

Self-care comes in a few forms. Physically, we need self-care in the form of plenty of sleep at night, exercise, and eating enough healthy foods. So if this means skipping out on that late night movie or passing up a second helping at dinner, look at it as a form of self-care. Emotionally, self-care looks like making sure you have a safe place to express and process your emotions. A trusted friend or family member can be a great choice. A therapist that you see regularly can also help create this space of emotional self-care.

Mental self-care is another piece of the puzzle. Finding things that are mentally stimulating for you such as books, movies, and other topics you find inspiring. Another mental self-care practice would be to stay away from things that drain your mental energy such as negative social media, and focus more on positive things that help your mind such as meditation. Social self-care is another part. In the world right now, it’s tough to keep this one up in the ways we used to. But being able to make time to connect with friends and maintain relationships is extremely important to your social self-care, even if it has to be done virtually or looking forward to future plans to get together.

As we head into the next year, may we be mindful of making all of these aspects of self-care a priority as we notice we need them so that we can be more productive, better able to handle life stress, and more compassionate towards ourselves and others.

If you're looking for ways to add to your self-care routine, check out our INjoy meditation classes, Workshops, and therapy sessions.