Anything you do to maintain your physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being is considered self-care. Its Essential for Your Mental and Physical Well-Being
On an airplane, you are expected to put on your own oxygen mask before helping someone else if the mask comes down. You won’t be able to assist anyone if you faint; in fact, you will require assistance.
The same idea holds true on the ground as well.
What Does Self-Care Mean, Then?
Taking bubble baths and putting your troubles aside are not the only ways to practice self-care. It encompasses all behaviors or pursuits that enhance certain aspects of your well-being.
SNHU clinical faculty member Dr. Carloline Perjessy. Caroline Perjessy, MD
Dr. Caroline Perjessy, head of the Association for Humanistic Counseling and a faculty member at SNHU with over 20 years of counseling experience, stated, “The term ‘self-care’ has been misused in our world.” “People think of spa days and a long implementation time when they hear that word.”
According to Perjessy, there are simple ways to practice self-care throughout the day, such as paying attention to your breathing and engaging in mindful awareness exercises, which can help with emotional regulation and show how you’re interacting with the outside environment.
“We can make deliberate decisions about how to use our attention and energy given this information,” she stated.
You must take care of all aspects of your wellbeing, not just your mental health, if you want your self-care to be holistic. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) lists eight different aspects of wellness (SAMHSA pdf source). Among them are:
- Emotional wellness
- Environmental wellness
- Financial wellness
- Intellectual wellness
- Occupational wellness
- Physical wellness
- Social wellness
- Spiritual wellness
What Makes Self-Care Crucial?
According to Perjessy, self-care can enhance your relationships with both yourself and other people.
“We become more grounded and purposeful in our activities and behaviors, honoring our finite resources, energy, and priorities, as we cultivate our self-care practices with ourselves,” Perjessy stated.
According to Dr. Roseina Britton, a certified counselor and clinical faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), self-care can be particularly important for people in the helping professions.
“I’m pouring into someone, I’m giving something of service to other people, especially in my work as a counselor,” she remarked. “And sometimes I have to make sure that I take care of that vessel if it has a crack, a hole, or is empty.”
Referring back to those oxygen masks on an airliner, Britton pointed out that if you aren’t taking care of yourself, you can’t provide others the finest care possible.
She stated, “We frequently live in a culture that glorifies the hustle mentality, overachievement, and perfectionism.” “However, in practice, that causes a great deal of stress and burnout.”
What Self-Care Examples Are There?
An outline of a person strolling outside in the direction of two trees.
According to Britton, “it can sometimes include more holistic actions that help you with your mental, emotional, physical, and sometimes even spiritual being.” “Sometimes it’s really just respecting your boundaries and keeping your peace.”
According to Britton, self-care might be doing things that help you feel better, going on a walk, lighting a candle, or yes, going to the spa or taking a bubble bath. However, it may also entail concentrating on personal development.
“So that might mean reading a book about personal development, financial development,” she said. “All of those are components of self-care.”
According to Perjessy, self-care is any activity that keeps you grounded. Specifically, she suggested:
1. Being in the natural world
2. Breathing techniques
3. Counseling
4. Restricting technology
5. Motion
She claimed that being grounded allows you to interact with people and yourself with greater compassion. According to her, “this creates a ripple effect, providing more productive and healthy dialogue and resolutions.”
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