You know that taking care of yourself is important for your mental health, but let’s face it — there’s kind of a lot going on right now. Practicing self-care, though, doesn’t have to be “me time,” or reading a book because you think you “should.” Knowing the different types of self-care means you can switch up your routine to meet your body and mind where they’re at.
"We prioritize depending on our needs," says Cynthia Catchings, L.C.S.W.-S., a therapist for the online mental health platform Talkspace. Broadening your understanding of self-care can help you find meaning in the less-great parts of your day while keeping yourself high on your own priority list.
Self-care: Actions you perform to take care of your physical, emotional, and mental needs.
When you love something you have ways of showing your love. You water your garden, you feed your cats, and you do sweet little things for your Loves. That’s what self-care is for you.
It’s about turning that love, attention, and affection toward yourself. You need love too. It becomes so much easier to have functional relationships when you aren’t living day-to-day deprived of the things that make you feel good. It becomes easier when you aren’t constantly living in a deficit of “love me”, “make me happy”, “make me feel valued”, voids that you are constantly yearning for other people to fill.
You can give those things to yourself.
Self-care is all about communicating with your soul and saying “Hey, what do you need right now?”
Then doing it.
Self-care is different for everyone and changes with moods and situations. It helps you figure out a step-by-step plan on what to do when you’re sick, tired, sad, stressed out, anxious, and all emotions in between.
Self-care helps stop the spiral of destructive emotions. It gives you something to focus on when you feel yourself starting to break down. It’s your greatest ally when it comes to coping with life in a healthy and productive way.
Physical Self-Care
When people think of self-care, they often think of the physical kind. Taking care of our bodies is a significant component of self-care, but it doesn’t have to include a vigorous exercise routine. Let’s face it, the word exercise can be intimidating, especially if we’re already feeling so busy in our everyday lives. The thought of adding yet another new task to our schedule can feel incredibly overwhelming.
The key to self-care is it should be something you enjoy. If it starts to feel like an obligation, then it may start adding to your stress levels, as opposed to reducing them.
What you can do:
Taking a shower or bath
Giving yourself a new look
Getting dressed in your outing dress even when you are not
Yoga
Eating more veggies and fruits
Drinking more water
Going for a walk during your lunch hour
Zumba
Going for a run
Going for a ride
Getting a massage
Taking a nap
Emotional Self-Care
Emotional self-care is about reacting to your emotions in a healthy way, having good coping mechanisms, and cultivating emotional intelligence.
How you deal with your feelings says a lot about how much you love yourself. Having the ability to deal with your emotions in a healthy way is crucial to your happiness and your quality of life.
If you feel like you are unable to deal with your emotions in a productive way, if you feel like your emotions are in control of you and your life, then focusing on your emotional self-care can really help.
When you feel an unpleasant emotion like jealousy, shame, embarrassment – how do you deal with it? Do you beat yourself up over it? Do you blame yourself for being too weak or sensitive when you let things get to you?
You have to learn how to honor your emotions and process them in a healthy way rather than bottling them up inside, those feelings have a way of manifesting themselves in your life through chaos and self-destruction.
What you can do:
Working on changing your negative self-talk – practice replacing the negative with positive self-talk
Journalling – writing down our feelings can help us better understand them
Practicing mindfulness and meditation – learning to be more present
Starting a gratitude journal – focusing on what you’re grateful for can sometimes help put things into better perspective
Setting more boundaries – it’s okay to say no
Being creative – express your emotions through painting, writing, cooking, etc.
Social Self-Care
Humans, by nature, are social beings. We like to feel connected with others. This type of self-care may look different for introverts and extroverts – because our levels of comfort in social situations differ. But, a connection is essential to us all. Having a support system of individuals we can trust, and nourishing these relationships can be an example of this self-care.
Introverts recharge by spending time alone. They begin to feel drained when they spend a lot of time with other people.
Extroverts, on the other hand, get recharged by being around other people. They prefer to be in social situations and have a lot of fun when in a social atmosphere.
A lot of people are a mix of both at different times and in different situations and with different people.
Social self-care asks you to learn what amount of “people-ing” is right for you and when.
What you can do:
Spending time with loved ones
Going to lunch with a friend
Joining a yoga class, or any class that interests you and that you can meet new people
Don't say yes to every social outing that vomes your way
Reconnecting with an old friend
Striking up a conversation with someone at the coffee shop when you pick up your morning coffee
Hosting a game night with your friends
Going on a date with your significant other
Spiritual Self-Care
It nourishes your soul, helps you find inner peace, and gives you a greater understanding of life beyond yourself. This self-care doesn’t necessarily have to relate to religion, although it can be religious for some people.
That sense of deep calm you feel when you're totally immersed in your favorite thing can be a spiritual experience, no matter what your beliefs.
This connection to something bigger than yourself can help you find purpose and meaning in life. It can give you the courage to push through when times get difficult and inspire hope time and time again.
What you can do:
Practicing meditation
Spending time in nature and reflecting
Praying
Reading an Holy Book (Qur'an or Bible)
Attending a spiritual programme
Writing in a gratitude journal
Donating to a charity or cause you believe in
Intellectual Self-Care
We often neglect to care for our intellectual well-being. This type of self-care includes doing something you enjoy that nourishes and challenges your mind. It expands your knowledge.
Intellectual self-care can involve figuring out what your current talents/strengths are and developing them further. It can also include learning a new skill.
Since this type of self-care helps you learn more about your skills and interests, it can be useful when deciding which career you are passionate about the most.
What you can do:
Reading a book
Completing a puzzle
Learning a new language/things/skills
Try out a new recipe
Taking a course on something that interests you
Watching a documentary on a topic you’re interested in
Practical Self-Care
Self-care relates to all areas of life. Professional self-care means continuing to learn and advance in your field. Having a job that just makes you happy. Making sure that you have healthy boundaries when it comes to work and home.
Environmental self-care means taking care of your space. Making sure that you’re in a healthy living environment free from danger and abuse. Doing all of those chores and not letting them pile up. Oh hello, depression and anxiety, I see you there.
Financial self-care means budgeting and paying bills on time and saving money if you can.
Sensory Self-Care
Sensory self-care helps you nourish your senses – sight, smell, touch, and sound. It is an effective way of bringing your mind to the present moment and helping you lower your stress levels. Living in the present moment helps you better cope with any past and future worry you may be feeling. These simple, yet powerful self-care activities can be effective ways of becoming more mindful and soothing an anxious, overwhelmed mind.
What you can do:
Walking barefoot on the grass
Spending time in nature
Burning your favourite scented candle
Taking a warm bath with your favourite scented bath bomb
Listening to soothing music
The Bottline
Self-care isn’t frivolous. It’s a brave and powerful action that says “I’m going to take care of myself in this way.”
As you can see, some activities can serve multiple types of self-care. The truth is, self-care may look different to each of us, there is no one-size-fits-all formula.
One self-care activity may help me, while another may help you. The key is to be intentional in making the time and effort to invest in your wellness. Now go on, get to self-caring!
Thanks so much for stopping by and reading through
What self-care type speaks to you the most? Let me know below!
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