Did you know “self-care” doesn’t always “feel” good? Understanding different types of self-care is important for maintaining a balanced and fulfilling life. As you’re establishing new routines for the fall, here are 6 different ways to self-care and a few examples for you to think about how to incorporate them into your day to day life!
Emotional Self-Care
These are activities that help you connect, process, and reflect on a full range of emotions. They give you an opportunity to slow down, reflect and connect with what is happening inside.
A few examples might be seeing a therapist, writing in a journal, creating art, or playing music.
Practical Self-Care
These are tasks you complete that fulfill core aspects of your life in order to prevent future stressful situations. These are SO important. Anxiety often comes from pushing these off and procrastinating. Scheduling out practical self-care is an automatic way to reduce future anxiety.
A few examples might be creating a budget, taking professional development classes, organizing your closet, and completing a home project.
Physical Self-Care
These are activities you do that improve the well-being of your physical health. Often times, we can find ourselves ignoring these basic ways of self-care until our bodies are “screaming” at us. Being mindful in our physical self-care can prevent future discomfort and problems with our health.
A few examples of of physical self-care are taking a walk during lunch breaks, sleeping 8 hrs a day, staying hydrated, scheduling an annual dr’s appt, and eating nourishing foods. What would you add?
Intellectual Self-Care
These activities stimulate and/or challenge your mind and your intellect. Our brains continue to make new neural pathways. Stimulating our brains helps keep it healthy! It increases our memory function and keeps us more open and flexible in our thinking.
Some examples of these activities might be reading a book, solving a puzzle, playing chess, going to a museum, or learning something new!
Social Self-Care
Social self-care activities nurture and deepens the relationships with people in your life! We need connection! Humans are hard-wired for connection so being intentional with social connections is crucial way to create self-care in your day to day life.
Some examples might be brunch with friends, going on a date, making time to call family, and getting involved in your community.
Spiritual Self-Care
These activities nurture your spirit and allow you to think bigger than yourself. It is vital to care for yourself at a soul level.
Some examples might be meditation, yoga, going to a place of worship, being in nature, or a dedicated time for self-reflection.
Each of these are unique aspects of our well-being, helping us to nurture our emotions, stimulate our minds, manage daily tasks, care for our bodies, build meaningful connections, and find purpose and peace. Embracing a holistic approach to self-care ensures we are better equipped to handle life's challenges and thrive.
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