I’m sure you’ve heard the term “Self-Care” but what is it, and why do I need to do it?
Self-Care is defined as the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s health.
Think of it this way, our body is like a car, and car’s need fuel to perform. Like that car, we need to take care of ourselves and get refueled each day.
Have you ever woke up and felt great- so great that you could take on the world? This is because you fueled your body! You got enough sleep, fed yourself, drank plenty of water, did activities you enjoy. You know these days- where you can let minor problems roll off your back, and nothing can get you down.
How can you have this feeling every day?
The answer is self-care!
It’s December, one of the busiest months of the year. I know so many of us have never ending to-do lists this month, social events, family events, and self-care usually takes a back seat. However, each day we need to fill our gas tank to be the best person we can be. Our tank gets depleted with all the tasks we do in a day. Our tank gets empty with work, then a little more with that commute home. The tank spills out even a little bit more when we come home to take care of our families and that never ending to-do list: cooking, cleaning, and helping kids do their homework... until our tank is empty or almost empty.
Just like a car, when the tank is empty, you’re going nowhere fast.
If you don’t fill your tank, you start the next day empty. These are the days where we feel tired and grumpy, or just not like ourselves. When our tanks are empty, it is hard to do anything, and when a minor problem comes up, it makes it hard to roll off our backs. These are the times when we feel stress creep in even more.
When we feel this way, it’s important to S T O P and take note and ask ourselves if we’ve filled our tank lately. If you haven’t, know you’re not alone. We all struggle with it and our busy culture, work and family life can make it difficult to focus on self-care. Maybe you feel selfish when you take a moment for yourself, I know I can feel that way. But we must remind ourselves that self-care is not selfish. Self-care is the fuel that drives us to care for those around us. So, what can you do to fill that tank back up?
Self-Care will help you be the best employee or employer, the best mom or dad, and the best person you can be. It is by taking care of yourself to be healthy, doing your job, and taking care of others. Self-Care helps you fill that tank up to do all the things you need to do and stay healthy to do them.
Please don’t take my word for it. The World Health Organization defines self-care as: “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.” Wikipedia says, “Self-care has been defined as the process of taking care of oneself with behaviors that promote health and active management of illness when it occurs. Individuals engage in some form of self-care daily with food choices, exercise, sleep, and dental care.”
Let’s also look at some things that Self-Care is not.
Self-Care is not being selfish, and self-care is not synonymous with self-indulgence. Self-care means taking care of yourself to be healthy, to be well. Unfortunately, many people view self-care as a luxury rather than a priority. Consequently, they're left feeling overwhelmed, tired and find it hard to handle life's inevitable challenges. Many of my clients who come to me because of anxiety or depression have difficulty self-care.
We need to start looking at Self-Care differently. We need to start incorporating it into our lives daily. It is crucial, just like brushing our teeth and showering, to be healthy.
It is essential to assess how you're caring for yourself in several different domains so you can ensure you're caring for your mind, body, and spirit. Self-Care is anything that we deliberately do or refrain from doing with our well-being in mind. It means giving ourselves the same grace, compassion, and care that we provide to others.
We all take care of our physical health. Did you know our emotional health is just as important? I want to ask you, what are you doing for your emotional health? How are you taking care of your emotional health? I hope now you will say, I practice self-care every day. I bet many of you were doing self-care and did not even know it.
If you do not have any ideas on what you can do for self-care, you can download my self-care list. I give this list to my clients and hope it will help you as well.
So remember to care for yourself this week, and to refuel that tank so you can be the best version of yourself! If you’d like to talk about self-care or anything else, I’d love to meet with you. Feel free to reach out for an appointment, 951-778-0230.
~Diana
I have always wanted to help people and have been working in the mental health field for the past twenty years. I enjoy being a therapist and seeing my clients improve their lives. My past clients have suffered with all types of trauma including domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual or physical abuse. People come in to see me often feel broken, scared, ashamed, worthless. It is so gratifying to see my clients getting better and living their full lives free of guilt and shame. I also have experiences working with men, women, teens and children. Specifically, I have worked with men struggling with addiction and the process of recovery. I have an in-depth understanding of how addiction, trauma, domestic violence, childhood abuse and sexual exploration impacts my clients and how these struggles can affect an individual, couple and the family relationships. I do not want you to feel you are alone with no where to turn.