Why Self-Care is Important for Your Mental Health
Why Self-Care is Important for Your Mental Health
When I was younger I used to think that self-care was some buzz word created to push luxury products to the masses.
I thought that it was all about having to buy the latest and best products just because with “self-care” slapped on to make it more appealing.
But now that I’m older and have experienced first hand how stressful life can be, I’ve come around on the importance of taking care of yourself when you’re feeling overwhelmed by life’s demands.
Self-care isn’t buying the latest, expensive products; it’s about making sure your mental and physical health doesn’t suffer because of stressors like work deadlines or life’s problems.
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Stress can feel overwhelming
When you’re stressed, it’s natural to want to avoid certain things or push them out of the way—including self-care.
It’s important to remember that stress is a normal part of life and not something to be ashamed of. In fact, we need stress to help us deal with difficult situations and challenges in our lives.
However, too much stress can lead people into feeling overwhelmed by their emotions and struggling with depression or anxiety disorders over time.
It’s also true that when we’re stressed out about work or relationships or school it can make it difficult for us even just getting through the day-to-day tasks at hand without feeling overwhelmed by everything else going on around us.
Stress takes its toll on our bodies too: headaches are common signs of stress along with stomach aches and muscle tension (or “butterflies” in your stomach).
Self-care involves a combination of small steps and big changes
Self-care is something you can do every day, and it encompasses a whole range of activities from making sure you eat enough food and exercise regularly to indulging in long baths and reading books.
Your self-care routine doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming, you can do small things that make a big difference in your life.
These small steps might include taking ten minutes out of your day for yourself or meditating for five minutes before bedtime every night.
You don’t need any special equipment or clothing (although those things can help), you just have to decide what works best for you!
You don’t have to be perfect
There’s a saying that goes something like: “perfect is the enemy of good.” It means that if you worry about doing everything perfectly, you will never get anything done.
The same is true for self-care: if you worry too much about whether your self-care practices are perfect or not, then it can become overwhelming and even exhausting to keep up with them.
Instead of focusing on perfection, try just making sure that you have enough self-care in your life to be healthy and happy.
Self-care shouldn’t cause more stress in your life
There’s no need to stress over whether or not everything fits into some idealised schedule of what “should” be happening in each part of your day; just do what feels right for your body and mind at any given point in time (even if someone else thinks it’s wrong).
As long as there are healthy choices being made throughout the day/week/month/year (not necessarily every second), then everything will work out fine!
Self-care is essential for coping with long-term stress and anxiety
Self-care is essential for your mental and physical health.
It can help you cope with stress and anxiety, which is important because of the way that these emotions affect your body.
The hormones adrenaline and cortisol are released in response to stressful events, causing the heart rate to increase, palms to sweat, muscles to tense up and more.
When this happens over time, say from long hours at work or school, it can cause physical symptoms like headaches or stomach-aches as well as mental symptoms like depression or anxiety.
Self-care helps prevent this sort of long-term stress by giving you a break from all that’s going on around you so that your body can relax into its normal state again.
A short nap after work will help recharge your energy levels; turning off electronics before bedtime helps regulate sleep cycles; getting outside during daylight hours increases vitamin D production (which regulates moods).
These small changes may seem insignificant but they add up over time.
Not all self-care looks the same for everyone
Self-care isn’t always as simple as taking a walk in the park. In fact, for some people it can be as complicated and involved as changing their diet or starting therapy (and that’s okay!).
Some forms of self-care are more active than others.
For example, while one person might feel like taking a nap and another might choose to go on an hour long run every day after work.
For others, changing their behaviour like cutting back on alcohol consumption or smoking cigarettes can have huge mental health benefits.
The important thing is that you find something that works for you and your lifestyle, whether it involves spending more time with close friends or having weekly check ins with yourself about how your day went.
It’s not selfish or self-indulgent to put yourself first
It’s not selfish or self-indulgent to put yourself first.
Self-care is a way to take care of yourself so that you can be there for others, and it’s not just about your mental health.
It’s also about your physical health, financial security, and emotional stability.
If we’re not taking care of ourselves as individuals and families, everything else falls apart.
A healthy society requires people who are able to be present on their own terms, not just physically but emotionally as well, and who have the resources necessary for healthy relationships with others in the community.
Self-care is important, especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed by stress
In the midst of stress, self-care can be hard to come by.
You may feel like there’s not enough time in the day to take care of yourself. But how can you expect to put your best foot forward and feel better if you don’t take time out for yourself?
Self-care provides a necessary respite from the everyday stresses of life, so it’s important that you make it a priority and carve out space in your schedule for some relaxation.
Here are some examples of effective ways to practice self-care:
- Take a bath or shower
- Meditate or breathe deeply
- Listen to music that makes you happy (or one song on repeat)
- Watch a movie or read a book
- Have a cuppa or make a smoothie
- Take a nap or go for a walk
Conclusion
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by stress, it can be helpful to know that there are many ways to take care of yourself.
Self-care doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s not selfish or self-indulgent if you prioritize your mental health over other people’s expectations of how they think you should live your life or what they want from you in the moment.
In fact, the more you prioritize self-care and take small steps toward wellness, the better off everyone will be in the long run.
Posts you may like
- Why You Need a go to Self-Care Plan and How to Create One
- 10 Self-Care Activities You Can Do Under 10 Minutes
Incredible points Jordanne! I used to equate self-care with purchasing products too. Self-care looks different for everyone and it can sometimes be as simple as allowing yourself the time to rest. Thank you for sharing!
I agree; self-care is essential and it’s a shame that so many of us (myself included) come to realize this later than maybe we should. This was a great reminder to make sure I am prioritizing this.
This, this, and this! I didn’t know self care also improved your mental health until I tried it. My favorite form of self care is disconnecting from all social media and playing a game like Skyrim or the sims, or even just having an early night. Great post 🙂
Our mental wellbeing is something we do need to take good care of! It’s nice reading a self care post that isn’t aimed at all the fluff you normally see. Self care is about those little every day tasks we do that all add up with more targeted self care thrown in as well. Thank you for sharing and being so real about it all.
~ Kayleigh
It is so true that self care is different for everyone. Writing for me is self care because it helps with my adhd.