What is self-care and why does it matter? Continue reading to hear more about self-care, the need for it, the benefits of it, and removing the gender stigma around it!
Let’s start out with a definition, what does self-care refer to anyways? Self-care is a personal action or attitude one makes to contribute to the maintenance of well-being, personal health, and promote personal development. To simplify, it is the act of taking time for yourself, in turn, enhancing your well-being.
There are many benefits of self-care including, helping to reduce stress, stay healthy, build resiliency, and more depending on what activity you choose to participate in!
The Myths of Self-Care:
1. Self-care is selfish.
2. Self-care is for women only.
3. Self-care refers to self-care nights such as, painting your
nails, having a “girl’s night," etc.
4. Self-Care is a one size fits all approach to improving your
well-being.
The Myths Debunked:
1. Self-care is not a selfish act, as explained in the definition, it is something you do to promote personal well-being, personal health, and promote personal development. By focusing on yourself you are more available for others as well. As the quote goes, “you can’t give from an empty cup.”
2. Self-care is important and beneficial for all genders. It is about your well-being, personal development, and personal discovery which are all not gendered terms. I want to reaffirm that if you identify as a man or any gender, you deserve and are worth taking time for and your well-being matters.
3. I want to start off by saying that yes, you can do this for your self-care, AND there are so many other ways you can take time for yourself. Sometimes self-care is cutting ties with a toxic friendship or relationship, sometimes it is mindfully making a healthy dinner. There is a wide variety of areas of self-care.
4. Self-care is not a one size fits all approach. Self-care can improve your well-being, yes, and not every approach is going to be right for everyone. Your interests and needs are individualized -like the term, it is to focus on yourSELF and you are a unique individual!
Areas of Self-Care:
What? There are different types of self-care? I suppose I did hint at this by debunking the third myth of self-care...
There are many ways to participate in self-care and in the pictograph below it lists different areas to consider. Similar to there being different domains of wellness, the different areas of self-care promote different areas in your life.
Activity Ideas:
1. Physical Self-Care: working out, getting a full nights rest, eating a healthy meal.
2. Psychological Self-care: learning a new skill or coping mechanism, learning a new hobby.
3. Emotional Self-Care: talking to a therapist, learning how to identify, manage, and express your emotions.
4: Social Self-Care: talking with a friend or family member, connecting with someone with common interests, creating a group to connect with others.
5. Financial Self-Care: making a budget, talking with a bank advisor about financial literacy.
6. Spiritual Self-Care: participating in a spiritual practice that aligns with you, connecting with your authentic self through self-awareness.
7. Environmental Self-Care: cleaning your house, organizing something, using your space as a way to show self-expression.
8. Professional Self-Care: having a healthy work-life balance, finding a career that brings you meaning and joy, setting boundaries between co-workers and clients.
Self-care can improve your well-being, yes, and not every type is going to be right for everyone. Your interests and needs are individualized. I am going to share different ways you can practice self-care; and I invite you to participate in the activities that align with you as these are all recommendations, just because you may not like yoga doesn’t mean you can’t improve your well-being!
Thank you for letting me share some ways to cultivate your moments.
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