Wondering what self-care is? You’re in luck because we have clearly defined the meaning of self-care, benefits of self care and how to go about it. If you are new to the term self-care, we guarantee by the time you are done going through our easy to understand articles you will have enough information to get yourself started on self-care. With plenty of relevant examples, we have shed light on the abstract term that is self-care.
The personal and social aspect of self-care have all been elaborated. We have discussed how self-care is advantageous to your life: how giving yourself attention can increase your productivity and generally make life worth living.
We have also outlined all the activities that are associated with self-care that you could undertake and how they help.
In these modern times we find ourselves buried in work most of the time. If we are not careful, we lose ourselves and forget that we are also human beings who need care. This is why the term ‘self-care’ is becoming more and more popular. Self-care refers to any activity you undertake that primarily focuses on making you feel better. Finding time in your busy day to do something for you, makes the hardships of life more bearable. There is no limit to how many benefits of self-care exist. Here are some of the best we found.
Benefits of Self Care
1. Manage Stress
Self-care activities encourage you to find time to get away from all the stresses of work and appreciate yourself. A simple activity such as taking a stroll to buy your favorite cup of coffee can really change your day.
Instead of letting the burden of responsibilities weigh down on you all day long, you take some time and clear your mind. This puts you in a better position to tackle your responsibilities without exhaustion or burnout.
2. Increase Productivity
Once you know your strengths and limits you can easily plan for your day. Knowing when you’ve had too much is a key component of self-care. Once you reach your limit, pushing yourself further to do more work is not an option. Being able to work all day long is not something to be proud of.
You are just doing more and more harm to yourself. Once you are rested and refreshed, you accomplish more work than you would just working your body non-stop like a machine. Major companies understand the benefits of self-care and encourage their employees to avoid overworking themselves.
3. Physical Well-Being
Psychological and social well-being contribute a lot to physical health. Stress alone causes a lot of fatal diseases. Illnesses such as heart disease, depression, ulcers and even common cold can be prevented just by setting aside sometime in your day to pay attention to making you feel batter.
Self-care involves activities such as going to the gym, jogging, cycling, yoga and other physical activities. Such activities improve your body’s resistance to diseases and you end up taking fewer trips to the doctor’s office.
4. Rediscover Yourself
Self-care allows you to really know what you want in life. If you find yourself in a situation where you are never happy and you cannot figure out why, maybe you need to take some time off and really look at your life. Self-care allows you to find out what you need to do to make yourself happy and how you can in cooperate such activities into your day.
You don’t have to force yourself to go to work from 8 to 5 for the entire week if it does not give you any joy. This is your life, you were meant to thrive not just survive. Above all, making sure what we do makes us happy should our first priority.
5. Increase Your Self-Worth
Once you get in touch with yourself and how precious you are, you build your self-esteem. If you have confidence in yourself you are in a position to live a more productive life. You are able to form better social bonds and you have more positive energy.
A key benefit of self-care is that you are constantly tasked with encouraging yourself. You have to find value in yourself in order to bring out the value in others.
Most people fall into depression because they are under the illusion that they need approval from others to feel good about themselves. Once you learn to appreciate yourself you are good to go.
6. Give Yourself a Reason to Wake Up Tomorrow
Having a reason to wake up tomorrow means you have a purpose in life. You may be blinded by your heap of responsibilities into thinking that you have a reason to wake up in the morning. This is not usually the case. There is a difference between having to wake up and wanting to wake up.
Scheduling a fun or relaxing activity such as reading a book or meeting up with friends can give you a reason to want to wake up tomorrow. If you can find a way to make yourself look forward to seeing the next day, you will drift through life with no worries. As far as I know, self-care is the best way to accomplish this.
Types of Self-Care:
According to my research, there are two major types of self-care. There is what you do for yourself to make you feel better and what you change in your social circle to make yourself feel better.
Personal Self-Care
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Taking Care of Your Soul
You don’t have to be religious to take care of your spiritual needs. Taking time to appreciate nature and other life around you are the basic point. All you need to do is take a walk around the block or interact with some new people. Having a pet can also pass for taking care of your spiritual well-being.
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Taking Care of Your Mind
Your mind is powerful. If you tell yourself you cannot make it, you probably won’t. Find a way of convincing yourself you are good enough and you will start getting things done in your life.
Having a positive attitude will go a long way in improving your self-esteem. Listen to inspirational messages or see a therapist regularly to keep your mind nourished.
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Taking Care of Your Body
This covers everything: from what you eat to what you do. Eat healthy and exercise regularly. This doesn’t mean you exhaust yourself with long hours at the gym in the name of self-care. You should also refrain from having an unhealthy diet of fried foods and excess sugars in the name of self-care.
It doesn’t harm to treat yourself every once in a while, but you should know you need to get out of your comfort zone if you want a healthy body. Walking your dog, jogging, yoga, boxing, visiting the gym or any sort of exercise that suits you should do the trick.
Social Self-Care
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Surround Yourself With Positive People
In social self-care you just have to take care of your surroundings. Make sure the people around you have a positive impact in your life. Surround yourself with friends that encourage you and make you look forward to spending time with them.
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Have Good Social Bonds
Human beings are social beings and being able to create and maintain good social bonds is important. Meeting new people is a good idea since they encourage you to explore new areas of life. Once you are comfortable with yourself you shouldn’t have any problems expressing yourself to new people. Interact with people who share your interests or ideas.
Once you have all these covered, you just relax and watch as all the benefits of self-care start changing your life for the better.
Conclusion
As children we are under the impression that adulthood is all about work and no fun. This is what makes most adults feel uncomfortable with activities that make them let loose. The key benefits of self care is that it reminds you that it is okay to relax and take care of yourself. Start doing things that improve your perception of yourself today and notice the change in your life.