What is Self-Care and How Can it Impact Your Overall Health?

What exactly is meant by self-care and how does it impact your overall health?

Good self-care habits may come naturally to certain people. After a full day of working and engaging with others, these people are aware of what their brains and bodies require to relax, unwind, and unpack. However, this is not the case for everyone, which is completely fine! Many people are unsure of what self-care is and how it should appear and feel to them. Despite the fact that social media may give the appearance that everyone has their own self-care routine down, this is not the case.

The primary subject of this essay is the concept of “making space” for one’s own self-care and mental wellness. What it means to make space, how it might materialize, and a few various ways you might incorporate it into your life.

Deciphering “self-care”

If you want to learn more about the concept of self-care and how it relates to stress, we have an entire post dedicated to the subject. If this is the case, you should read it and then return right away.

To keep things simple, we might define self-care as everything we do to nourish ourselves. This is especially important when we are fatigued and overworked as a result of the stress we endure in our daily lives. Everyone’s definition of self-care differs slightly. Some people are all about facemasks and bubble baths, while others are all about making sure they have enough time in the morning to brew a great cup of coffee and enjoy it while sitting on the porch. It could be a rigorous workout or a nap in the midst of the day. It could also mean going to the movies alone or remaining at home and reading a book.

What Exactly Does It Mean to Schedule Time for Your Own Self-Care?

Self-care involves setting out time to recharge and put yourself first. Our days are devoted to serving others, whether at work, with our children, or in recreational pursuits. Making space may feel uncomfortable at first, but you must serve yourself before others. Before helping others, help yourself. First, define your self-care and relaxing zone.

In order to find the answer to that question, introspection will be required. We strongly advise you to obtain some paper and a pen and write down your ideas and feelings about what it means to practice self-care. To get you started, here are some thought-provoking questions:

When do you feel most at ease being yourself?

When it comes to choosing the specifics of your favorite method of self-care, a smart place to start is by examining the times of day when you feel the most at peace and content. Do you find it easiest to unwind when you sit on the couch and watch your favorite sport? At the beach, are you relaxing on the sand? Are you getting a massage? This is useful information that will help you better understand yourself.

What types of activities give you an energy boost?

Traditional ways of relaxation can have the opposite impact on certain people. Things that nourish you may also require the most work. Asking yourself what activities give you the most energy, such as running, cooking a tough (but rewarding) meal, seeing your therapist, or playing catch with your dog in the park, is an important part of self-care.

What makes you nervous? Where in your life do you experience the most strain, and where do you feel the least?

If you’re having problems answering this question, think about what makes you the most anxious, and then look for scenarios that are diametrically opposed to that source of stress. For example, if going through your work emails is the most stressful thing you can think of, your self-care strategy could include engaging in an activity that takes place outside so that you are unable to think about it.

When you’ve established whatever kind of self-care will be most useful to you, it’s time to create time for it in your calendar.

Making Time for Your Own Self-Care

Now that we have a better knowledge of what self-care is, what it means to make room for it, why it is important for mental health, and how you can take care of yourself, it is time to genuinely make room for it.

We neglect self-care for many reasons. We often feel we’re too busy to give it the attention it deserves and that if we do, we won’t have time to deal with the issues causing us stress and prompting us to seek self-care. Self-care helps relax the mind so we can tackle our to-do list. Self-care may, contrary to expectations, free up more time for you during the day because your mind will be clearer and you can tackle things more effectively.

Conclusion

We call it “creating space” because we rarely believe we deserve to step back and care for ourselves. Thus, “making space.” The best method to make time for self-care is to schedule it. You can regularly practice self-care if you wish to. Setting an alarm a few times a week to remind you to meditate is one way to stay on track and make self-care a habit. Self-care should be viewed as a pleasure you’ve earned, not a chore.

We at FitnTight hope to be a resource for you in your journey toward greater self-care. You may read a wide range of articles about health and fitness on our blog; you can take lessons and classes through our virtual membership (for a free trial, click here); and we have many clubs for you to choose from. Come see us now to get started on the path to better self-care.