Self care consists of eight key areas. For balance, all of the areas need to be maintained. Let's dig into each one by using some examples and then we will discuss the importance of balance.
Physical
This is the act of taking care of the exterior and interior of your body to keep it functioning at optimum levels.
Exercise for at least 30 minutes 5 days a week
Sleep for at least 7 hours
Keep a consistent sleep schedule
Take time to rest
Brush your teeth twice a day
Shower regularly
Psychological
This is about learning, growing and thinking more to keep evolving into the best version of yourself.
Set limited time to play a video game
Listen to music
Make and write in a gratitude journal
Social Media Fast
Spend time on a hobby
Emotional
This is becoming aware, identifying, and nurturing feelings to release them rather than keeping them bottled up.
Put your needs first (can't pour from an empty cup)
Do something you love at least once a day
Play relaxing music
Protect energy
Social
This is about connections with other people.
Host game night
Cuddle
Go on date
Call a close friend
Join online support group
Play with pet
Go to events that interest you
Connect with community
Professional
This is all about work life, how it relates to you and furthers your career.
Go for a walk daily around your building
Leave work stress at work
Use vacation and work days
Make friends with co-workers
Leave your desk for lunch
Evaluate your workload
Stay organized
Continue to learn
Set up peer support group
Environmental
This is about taking care of the physical areas you spend your time in.
Make your space comfortable
Add personal touch
Spiritual
This is about our connection to a higher power and meaning for life.
Pray
Connect with nature (here is one way)
Spend time in nature
Financial
This is about making goals for financial future and supporting a healthy monetary mindset.
If we do not take the time to prioritize each area of our lives and they become out of balance, then we will become burned out. We can end up with health problems as we drop one (or multiple) important areas of our lives to take care of an area that was long neglected and currently a smoldering heap.
Sometimes we do not know what is wrong with us and that is why it is important to take time to go over a list such as the one above to make sure we are not neglecting any important areas of our lives. It is much easier to take care of a building before it is on fire.
Self Love Language
Recently we talked about the five love languages . This allows us to feel taken care of and it is important whether we are in a romantic relationship or not. Did you know that you can meet your own love language needs? Meeting your own needs can take the pressure off others and yourself. It will also allow healing for times when your love language needs have not been met.
Usually when I am feeling off it is because I am not having my love language spoken as often as I need. It can be hard when raising young children who have a lot of needs and even more demands.
Did you know your love language can change over time? Here is a free quiz to find out your love language.
How to Distract for Self care
A great way to distract yourself from stress is to practice sensory self care. This is not listed as a main area of self care because it is it's own area and does not take as much time as the other areas. This also allows someone to unplug all the other areas of stress to be fully present for their self care activity.
How Self care Adds Up
A.H. Maslow came up with the theory shown above called, The Hierarchy of Needs in 1943. It is still used by many today to show how our needs build upon one another. Taking care of our physical, psychological, emotional, social, professional, environmental, spiritual, and financial needs helps us reach self-actualization.
Self-actualization is "the realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone". (dictionary.com) This is the area where we get to become our most creative selves. We can't wait for others to fulfill our needs for us, otherwise we will be left hurting and waiting for a long time. We get to create the life we want to live.
We can better help those around us by showing examples of self care. We will also be better able to show up for others when we take care of ourselves.
Can you image what the world would look like if people starting saying no when they wanted to and gave the reasoning of needing to take care of themselves? You can start that trend. This will also allow for healing from all the times in your life when you wanted to put yourself first but took care of others anyway, leading to burnout, anger at yourself and those you needed to take care of.
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