Do We Practice Self-Care the Right Way?

Yoga. Pumpkin spice lattes. Beach vacations. Therapy. From marketing campaigns to memes, “self-care” messaging is everywhere. The term is used so often that it can sometimes become fetishized and obscured. However, self-care is extremely important to get right. When incorporated correctly, it can be a huge contributor to quality of life and overall well-being.

Let’s explore how to do self-care effectively.

What is Self-Care?

Self-care has been defined by numerous international medical and health organizations over time. Those definitions vary, but major themes include the concept of practices or actions for the purpose of maintaining good health and preventing health problems or illnesses. They also usually distinguish self-care as being separate from institutional healthcare or formalized treatment. Self-care can encompass activities (or be affected by factors) within a number of areas:

Personal hygiene, or how one cares for his or her physical body. This can include cleanliness, sleep patterns, and more.

Diet and nutrition, or what one consumes. This can include supplements, vitamins, and how one engages with things like alcohol and other substances.

Lifestyle and environment, which can include things like physical movement and activities, exercise and fitness, hobbies, personal relationships and communities, living conditions, and access to safe spaces.

Socio-economic factors, including factors such as food and resource security, socio-economic status and income level, cultural influences, and more.

Self-care refers to how an individual harnesses or interacts with these influences (that exist both within and outside his or her control) to foster health and well-being.

The Purposes of Self-Care

Engaging with self-care practices is important for a number of reasons. Instituting effective self-care in your life can create a number of positive effects:

Mitigating the Risk of Developing Mental Health Strain and Illness

Self-care helps reduce stress levels and combat the build-up of stress and harmful patterns. Especially for those that work or live in stressful or difficult situations, those recurring experiences of stress or trauma can contribute to, or cause, mental health problems.

Helping Reduce the Onset of Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue can be defined as “emotional, spiritual, or physical distress that comes from providing care for other people.” A wide variety of people work or live in situations that can create this phenomenon. Stay-at-home Moms or Dads, caretakers, hospice workers, nurses, social workers, and others that work in civil service jobs are all susceptible to experiencing compassion fatigue in various forms.

Maintaining Overall Performance at Work, School, or Home

Employing self-care is an effective way of keeping yourself in good condition. Just like changing the oil regularly in a car or feeding a pet an optimal diet for their biological needs, self-care invests in your health and enables you to perform refreshed, energized, and less burdened by accumulated stress.

Contributing to Overall Quality of Life

Self-care can be a holistic, all-encompassing approach to ensure that the things that are important (and sometimes even vital) for all human beings to thrive are present in your life experience.

Tips for Doing Self-Care the Right Way

Whether you are interested for the first time or you have already established a self-care routine, there is always room to incorporate self-care techniques into your life and enhance your practices. Here are a few tips for incorporating self-care into your life in ways that are effective, practical, and sustainable.

Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

Too often, individuals who learn about the benefits of self-care try to incorporate a large number of changes at once. When this happens, chances are good that many of them won’t stick. If you’re interested in incorporating self-care, have patience with yourself.

Try making just one change for a month and then assess. How did that change feel? Did you notice any positive effects? Did you enjoy the change? Add self-care to your life in small pieces and you’ll be surprised how much easier and more effective it can be.

Find Someone to Do Self-care with You

Especially if you are relationally oriented or extroverted, engaging in elements of your self-care with someone else can create huge benefits. It can provide accountability and increased enjoyment, as well as add relational elements to your self-care that can increase its effectiveness.

Try inviting a friend to take a workout class with you, involving your kids or spouse in a regular weekend activity, or scheduling a weekly walk with a neighbor or family member. However this might look for your situation and needs, involving others into your self-care can be an effective way to make it more fun and consistent.

Discover What Self-care Methods are Most Effective for You

Taking the time and effort to evaluate your self-care routines can enhance your self-care tremendously and ensure that what you’re doing will give you the most bang for your buck. Try scheduling a day once a month or once a quarter to take stock of what your life and self-care routines have looked like since you last checked in.

This can be even more effective if you keep a journal, a spreadsheet, or whatever method is preferable for you to keep notes and conclusions that you can look back at in the future. Incorporating this kind of regular evaluation can significantly enhance your self-care over time.

Photo Credit

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Guest Author Bio
Sarah Daren

With a Bachelor’s in Health Science along with an MBA, Sarah Daren has a wealth of knowledge within both the health and business sectors. Her expertise in scaling and identifying ways tech can improve the lives of others has led Sarah to be a consultant for a number of startup businesses, most prominently in the wellness industry, wearable technology and health education. She implements her health knowledge into every aspect of her life with a focus on making America a healthier and safer place for future generations to come.