The beauty of self-care

We’ve all heard of the term self-care and we probably do it from time to time, however, it’s very easy to forget it’s importance and significance. There are two definitions of self-care that I think are both equally important. The first one is “the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health”. The second one is “the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own wellbeing and happiness, in particular in times of stress”.

Both definitions express taking care of yourself to be healthy in all aspects of your life. Nowadays, we tend to get caught up in our daily activities and we often forget to take a moment and check-in with ourselves to see how we are doing. I can't speak for many people but I know that for me, taking some time out tends to be an afterthought. A lot of the time, I'd ask myself 'what's the point?' but then slowly I realised how beneficial it is to do things that help me take care of myself.

So why is self-care important? Self-care can ensure that we have a healthy relationship with ourselves and the people around us. It’s something we can do to protect our happiness and become the best version of ourselves. Self-care can help reduce stress and anxiety. It can help you recognize some areas in your life that you may need to work on or some bad habits that you may need to get rid of; it could be a way for you to get to know yourself a bit better and help improve the way we think and perceive ourselves and the world. For example, improving our way of thinking can allow one to become more optimistic and have a more positive outlook on life. Self-care can also allow us to pay attention to things we need as humans in order fo us to fully engage in our lives.

Self-care looks different for everyone. For one person, it could be going off of social media for a while, for another person, it could be taking a bath and listening to music. For other people, even realising that they need to take some time out for themselves is a form of self-care. There are also many different reasons as to why a person might engage in self-care. For one person it could be to develop healthy habits but for another person, it could be to heal from a traumatic experience. Whatever the method or experience, self-care is a way to ensure you're comfortable in all areas of your life.

Finding ideas for self-care doesn't have to be difficult, here are some that you can try out:

• Listening to music

• Reading a book

• Going for a walk

• Writing in a journal

• Calling friends

• Doing skincare

• Breathing exercises

• Yoga

• Meditation

• Exercise

• Create a list of the things you're grateful for

The beauty of self-care is that it can be whatever you want at whatever time you as long as you're taking care of yourself and you are comfortable in doing so. It doesn't have to take up much time out of your day, even just taking a deep breath can you feel calm and feel grounded in yourself.