When was the last time I did something nice for myself?

Shine on!

Make you a priority

If you’re anything like me, it seems like your schedule’s getting more crowded, your days are more hectic, and even the weekends are filled chores. It’s no secret that life is bursting with stressors, most of which you can’t eliminate. I guess that’s what makes them a stressor.

To combat this daily tension and gain some peace, I started practicing some activities to relieve stress; meditation, hitting the gym (actually, not the gym, I go to the Y), bubble baths with candles (don’t judge), or the occasional walk in nature. But I found that these activities had a fleeting effect on my sense of peace. What was I missing?

Turns out, that I could do stress relief activities all day long and it won’t help if I’m not taking care of myself. Focusing on stress-relief was short-sighted and ineffective at giving me the feeling of sustained peace that I was looking for. After some research, I’ve discovered that to achieve a more effective and sustainable level of peace in my life, I ‘ll want to focus on the concept of self-care.

Psychologists define self-care as “a multidimensional, multifaceted process of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being.”

Self-care is about creating a resiliency that allows you to handle the stressors in life and bounce back quickly from set-backs. I know what you’re thinking,

“Who has time for self-care? Isn’t that a little indulgent?”

I get it. That’s how I felt too. I was overwhelmed, tired, and felt like I couldn’t handle what life was throwing at me. But I also felt that this couldn’t continue. So, I decided to give self-care a try.

Let’s get into the basics of self-care. It’s important to understand that there are five areas to consider when addressing the care of self. These areas are: Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Social, and Emotional.

PHYSICAL SELF CARE

This is the area that I think should be your highest priority. If your body’s not working well, the rest really doesn’t matter. Managing your health has a significant effect on all the other areas of your life. Physical self-care activities would include:

          Getting enough sleep

          Fueling your body with proper foods

          Moving everyday

          Engaging with experts (Doctors, Dentists, etc.)

MENTAL SELF CARE

Your mind creates your reality. Your mental well-being has a direct bearing on how you experience life. Mental self-care would include:

          Engaging in activities that mentally stimulate you

          Practicing self-compassion and acceptance

          Participating in a meditation practice

SPIRITUAL SELF CARE

Research has shown that people whose lifestyle includes religion or spirituality are generally healthier. Spiritual self-care is anything that nurtures your spirit. It may or may not involve organized religion. Anything that helps you develop a deeper connection to the universe, or a more profound sense of meaning will do the trick. Here’s a few things to consider when developing your spiritual life:

          How do you think about your life experiences?

          What questions do you ask yourself about your experiences?

          Do any of the activities that you engage in fulfill your spirit?

SOCIAL SELF CARE

As humans, we are hard-wired to connect with others. But, when we get busy, it’s easy to neglect the relationships in our life. Close connections are import to your well-being. It requires that you put time and effort into creating and maintaining close relationships. There isn’t a recommended number of hours you should devote to your relationships. What is clear is that time on “social” media does very little to fulfill this human need. (In Real Life people!) Think about what your social needs are and be sure to create enough time in your weekly schedule to make it happen. You can ask yourself these questions when assessing your social needs:

Do you feel like you’re getting enough face-to-face time with the people you care about? Are you getting too much?  

What are you doing to nurture your relationships?

When’s the last time you made a new friend?

EMOTIONAL SELF CARE

We all have emotions that make us feel uncomfortable. Developing healthy coping skills to handle emotions like anger, sadness, or anxiety is very important. Creating time and a process to help you work through your feelings is a good start to incorporating emotional self-care into your life. Emotional self-care activities would include:

          Activities that help you acknowledge and express your feelings

Talking with a close friend or partner

Engaging in physical activities that help you process your emotions

Participating in professionally led support groups 

In the end, caring for yourself is the most impactful thing that you can do. So, develop a self-care strategy. Everyone is different so come up with a plan that feels right for you.

Look at the five areas of your life and determine which ones may need your attention now. As your life changes, be sure to reassess and adjust your strategy. Don’t try to tackle everything at once. Start small, add new practices as you go. The key is to make YOU a priority. Caring for yourself will make you more impactful, more peaceful, more you. Know this: the universe desperately needs you at full YOU. Don’t let the universe down.

Shine On!