What is Self-Care?

What does it mean to engage in self-care? I’ve come a long way on this one, but still struggle with it. For me it is the pull between escapism and truly engaging in behaviors that take care of myself, physically, spiritually, and mentally/emotionally. The answer for everyone is going to be different. For some, it is a challenge to carve out time to take care of of ourselves. Some of us like to zone out and I used to think this was self-care. I thought something that was pleasurable and “relaxing” like reading or watching TV was self care. For some people it can be. For others, like me, it ultimately takes me away from true self care. I have found self-care is honoring my body. Listening when something doesn’t feel right. It is also movement like walking, stretching, running. It is spending quality time with my family where I am fully present without distractions like TV, social media, reading, etc. It is learning to identify and express emotions, set boundaries, get enough sleep and spend time in nature. Sometimes self-care is difficult. Sometimes I don’t want to do it, but in the end it is what is best for me. Self-care is often promoted as an occasional indulgence. However, I believe that self-care is a daily practice of caring for our needs.

I have found curiosity is a great way to approach many things in life, including growth around health and wellness. Here are some questions you may want to consider around self-care. What does self-care look like for you? Are there things you think are self-care that may actually be distractions from truly caring for yourself? What are those things? Why do you tend to choose things those over self-care? What are areas of your life that feel neglected? Why do you feel that you don’t care for yourself in these ways?