Showing yourself some self-care love means addressing your own physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual needs.
It’s February already and love is in the air with Valentine’s Day right around the corner. While you find ways to show those special people in your life how much you love them, February is a great time to remember to show yourself some love in the form of self-care.
Self-care means addressing your own physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual needs. It might be an easy thing to brush off in the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, but taking your self-care seriously is critical for maintaining your health and building resilience toward stressors in your life. Failing to do so can result in you feeling sick, tired, overwhelmed, and ill-equipped to handle the curve balls life inevitably throws our way.
Physical
First, you need to be sure you’re taking care of your physical body. If you aren’t caring for the vessel in which you are navigating life, it’s going to negatively affect the other areas of self-care. Make sure you are doing things like getting enough sleep, eating well to fuel your body, moving your body, scheduling and keeping important doctor appointments, and getting chiropractic adjustments. Taking care of your physical health puts you in a much better position to address your other self-care needs.
Emotional
Next, check-in on your emotional health. Having healthy coping skills to deal with your emotions and finding ways to acknowledge and express your feelings safely is key. You might find talking to your partner or a close friend helpful but the best way to process and handle those bigger, more complex emotions might be talking to a licensed and trained professional. You probably wouldn’t trust your best friend to perform a serious operation on your body (unless of course your bestie is an award-winning surgeon 😊), so maybe solely trusting them to sort out your emotional health isn’t the best way to go. There are so many wonderful options for online therapy now as well.
Mental
Now your mental health needs some love. Mental health self-care includes doing things that help keep your mind sharp. Puzzles, reading, learning about a topic you’re interested in, and watching movies are all great ways to keep that brilliant mind of yours in tip-top shape.
Social
Don’t forget about your social self-care needs. Life gets busy, we know, but socialization is so significant for your overall health. Spending time with friends and loved ones, cultivating those connections are important for your well-being. Everyone’s social needs are different but try to make sure you are getting enough face-to-face time with your friends and loved ones. Sometimes we don’t realize how good social interactions feel in our soul until we consciously make the time and follow through on those gatherings.
Spiritual
Lastly, spend some time addressing your spiritual self-care. Research has shown that living a life that includes religion or spirituality is generally a healthier lifestyle. However, it’s important to note that this form of self-care does not HAVE to involve religion. Finding ways to nurture your spirit is the key here. Any way that helps you develop a deeper sense of meaning, understanding, and connection with the universe is spiritual self-care. This can be through meditation, praying, attending a religious service, connecting with nature, etc. No matter what your belief system includes, finding ways to maintain and nurture your spiritual self is influential to your overall health.
Healthy and Happy
Overall, creating and maintaining an effective self-care routine has shown to have many health benefits including reducing anxiety and depression, reducing stress, improving overall happiness, increasing energy, reducing burnout, and developing stronger interpersonal relationships. The World Health Organization has even said self-care can help promote health, prevent disease, and help people better cope with illness.
So, remember this month & every month, make yourself a priority by showing yourself some love in the form of self-care because you deserve to be healthy & happy!