It can be hard to take time for yourself, especially when that means setting boundaries and saying no to people you love. But without regularly practicing self-care, you will quickly become burned out and your mental health will suffer. Remember that it isn’t selfish to practice self-care. In fact, most of the time, it’s necessary.
It’s also helpful to work self-care into your daily routine so that it becomes more natural to you. Let’s discuss why self-care matters and how to include it in your day-to-day life.
What Is Self-Care?
If you’ve spent any time online or in popular culture recently, you’ve likely heard about self-care. However, it can often be misconstrued. Self-care is sometimes mistaken in discussion for “treating yourself” to do what feels good despite what your actual needs might be. While spoiling yourself can be a form of self-care when appropriate, self-care is in fact harder work.
Sometimes self-care means that instead of sleeping in until afternoon, you set an alarm even on weekends in order to give yourself a healthier, more regulated sleep schedule. It may mean getting up to take a shower, brush your teeth, and eat three meals a day even if you’re depressed. It may mean having hard conversations with friends to set boundaries for your own health. Self-care also means being gentle with yourself, not judging when you don’t feel your best and slip up, but committing to trying again.
Why Self-Care Is Important
There are so many demands made on you every day. You have responsibilities at work, responsibilities with your friends and family, bills to pay, and more. It can feel like at the end of the day there’s no time left for yourself…and that can be very fraying for your mental health. We’ve all experienced that feeling of little things building up until suddenly it all becomes too much and we snap. Self-care serves as a recharge when you need it.
Self-care is essential for your self-worth. Often, people fail to take care of themselves when their self-esteem is low, feeling that they don’t deserve to be taken care of. The very practice of taking care of yourself will help remind you that you do deserve care.
It can even help to make you a better friend, by taking care of yourself so that you have space to take care of others. It’s the same principle that you hear when you fly on a plane: put on your own oxygen mask before attempting to assist others.
How To Incorporate Self-Care In Your Daily Routine
So how exactly do you work self-care into your daily life? It may take some time to get into the habit — which is why we refer to it as “practicing” self-care. Here are a few tips and suggestions:
Pencil In Some Quiet Time
The demands and pressures of your life can start to feel like too much if you don’t take time to refresh. Make sure you have a little bit of time to yourself each day. This might be in the morning before the rest of your family wakes up, in the evening, or even during your lunch. You can write in a journal, read something you enjoy, pray or meditate, or simply sip on a cup of coffee in solitude.
Track Your Sleep
Most people should receive 7-9 hours of sleep on average. If you are in sleep debt, it can impact the rest of your mood and mental health significantly. You may have less energy, be more irritable, and stress can be more pressing than on a full night’s sleep. Figure out the sleep routine that works best for you and consider using an app or even a bullet journal chart to track your sleep each night.
Swap Negative Self-Talk With Affirmations
It’s easy to fall into a habit of constantly talking down to yourself. How many times a week do you jokingly say, “I’m an idiot?” Even if you say it half-heartedly, several studies have linked self-deprecating humor with low self-esteem. Instead, consider self-affirming humor. If you trip on the sidewalk, you can jokingly say something like, “I am a picture of grace.” Even if it’s sarcastic, it gets you in the habit of being gentler with yourself.
Take Time Off Where You Can
This may not be a daily habit, but it can still be necessary. Everyone deserves a day off. This can be hard to achieve when you work five days a week and take care of your family when you’re not at work.
Try to take time off where you can. If you cook dinner every night, maybe take one night a week where you and the family go out to dinner. Set boundaries with work that you will not be available on weekends by avoiding work emails until Monday. Refresh yourself with time off, and working will feel less draining.
Tell Your Support Network
Tell your support network about the self-care habits that you incorporate into your routine. They can help you by checking in, holding you accountable, as well as respecting your boundaries. If you need quiet time, let your roommates, friends, or family know when you need that time. If you’re trying to fix your sleep habits, let them know so that if they see you online at 2 in the morning they can check in on you. The more support you have, the more easily you can work this into your routine.
At Rivia Mind, we appreciate that self-care is an essential part of your overall wellness. If you need support to help include self-care in your daily routine, or if one of your self-care goals is to finally start going to therapy or looking into medication to mitigate mental health symptoms, we can help. Contact Rivia Mind today to learn more about how we can help you or to schedule a free 15-minute consultation.
