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This time of year can be very stressful! Let’s talk about self-care and WHY it is so important! I’ve been studying mental health for years now (i’ll have my masters in the spring-woo hoo!!) and have realized how it can positively or negatively affect every aspect of our lives.
Self-care has a different meaning for each person, and each person can practice self-care differently as well. The main point of practicing self-care though is usually one in the same: to take care of yourself. As human beings, we all have needs. It is SO important to find an hour, 30 minutes, or even 10 minutes each day to take care of yourself. I don’t mean just simply “taking a shower and doing your make-up”- (I hear you mamas, taking a shower alone is sort of tranquility and having time for a full face of make-up is not always an option). When we don’t practice self-care, we start to allow stressto take over.
Heres the thing-
Self-care is important for our physical, emotional and mental well-being. It prevents burn out, boosts self-esteem, allows us to be more compassionate to others, and even can aid in preventing disease (over 75% of doctor visits in the U.S. each year are for stress related issues…YIKES). Our country has become so accustomed to stress that most people think it’s just part of life and we have to basically get over it. Nooooooo!! Of course stress is an emotion we will inevitably feel, but it is not healthy to consistently stress. If you’re stressing, start incorporating little things in your life that you love!
Let’s dig deeper and get nerdy…Each of us are equipped with a “parasympathetic nervous system” (PNS) which allows your body to conserve energy and bring our bodies back into homeostasis (balance). This usually happens when we sleep… HOWEVER, if we are constantly stressing and not taking care of ourselves, our stress can follow us into our sleep as well. Signs of this can be teeth grinding, jaw clenching and frequent waking. We function best when our PNS is activated! To activate our PNS, we must start practicing self-care so that our bodies can react better to our emotional, physical and mental health.
Work, school, being a parent, keeping a cleanly home etc. are all important parts of our lives, but seriously…..the dishes will still be there, plan better for doing homework so that you aren’t consumed with it (buy a planner and USE IT!!), and when you clock out of work, clock out mentally as well. Incorporate that self-care into your routine and it will become something that you do naturally. You’re mental well-being comes first and is more important than anything else (because you really can’t do any of “life’s jobs” 100%without a healthy state of mind).
There are SO many ways to practice self-care, and every person has to figure out what works for them personally. Think of self-care as having 5 different “areas.” Sensory, emotional, spiritual, physical and social. Within each category, there are endless options to start practicing self-care. Click here for a free PDF of 10 easy ways to practice self-care! I have also put together a little “DIY self-care box.” Click here to see more!
If you have questions or need more guidance, contact me for more information.
All the best,
Haley