More than a face mask: The Importance of Self-Care
Self-Care is everywhere at this point, but it usually refers to face masks in a bathtub with a glass of wine. So, what exactly is self-care and why is it so important?
The airline doesn’t tell you to put your mask on before helping others just for funsies. It is because preserving “self” has to come first for both as an innate biological function and as a life saving mechanism. You quite literally cannot help someone else if you run out of air before you get to that. At this point, it has become very common to place a tower of things above “self” because modern messaging has led people to believe that putting yourself first is an act of selfishness and that work or family or whatever else is more important. Self-preservation is a built-in biological function designed to protect us that we have turned off overtime to accommodate this false messaging.
In reality, if you are not putting yourself first then you will wear yourself down to a place where you cannot even put the other things that matter to you on the list at all. It is for this reason, that “self” must in fact come first and that caring for “self” must be built into our daily and weekly rituals and routines. The face-mask-bubble-bath process of self-care places it as an afterthought that follows a long, chaotic week. In actuality, self-care should be mindfully curated by your specific needs and lifestyle.
I know, at this point, for anyone with children you must be thinking I have gone off the rails - but hear me out: If you are not preserving self throughout raising your children, how will your mental and physical health suffer? What will this teach them about their sense of self? Will it create a sense of burnout?
It can be very difficult to reset your self-preservation mechanism, but building a solid self-care ritual is the first step. So, what does that even look like?
On The Daily
On a daily basis, there are acts of self-care that you may already be doing but have never quite considered them to be self-care. Reframing how we view these simple tasks can build a sense of mindfulness around them and even improve the likelihood that we will complete them often.
Supplements and medications are an act of self-care. Think about the reason you take whatever it is- it is for your health and well-being. Self-care is meant to promote health and wellness, therefore taking your supplement or medication regimen seriously is an act of self-care that you can't afford to skip. The supplement that I recommend most often to include in your routine is Wile’s Burnout Relief, an adaptogenic herbal blend designed to help your body integrate stress better and boost your mood.
Proper hydration and nutrition throughout the day is also an act of self-care! This one may seem obvious, but providing your body with necessary nutrients and appropriate levels of protein is a necessity. Many studies have shown that proper nutrition can vastly improve your physical and mental health. This is not about crash diets or massive weight loss; it is about placing your body’s well-being first. It’s also not to say that you can’t enjoy food or find ways to incorporate things you love. It absolutely can be done!
Hygiene is also a big part of self-care, which is probably where the beauty industry entered the chat. Studies have shown that proper hygiene can vastly improve your physical and mental health. I am not going to tell you specifics about what hygiene looks like for you - what I am going to say is that you know what to do! Showering regularly, brushing your teeth daily, cleaning your home and other similar tasks do count as acts of self-care. The more you think of them that way, the more likely you are to incorporate and implement them with whatever frequency you find suits you. For many (including myself), hair washing day is ABSOLUTELY a self-care day, but it most certainly isn’t an everyday task.
Sleep hygiene is not as commonly talked about as part of the hygiene category, but it most certainly is a mindfulness practice that deserves more attention. Recently, studies have come out that show blue light (screen) exposure changes the sleeping patterns in children and adults. The increase in scrolling time before bed is likely to blame for many peoples trouble sleeping. That being said, it can be difficult to get the suggested two hour of screen-free time before bed. I find it much easier for patients to start small with 20-30 minutes of screen-free time before bed and work up from there. You can do this by having a nightly routine like showering and then reading for 20 minutes or whatever suits you best.
Complementary Self-Care
Taking care of your health is a valuable piece to the self-care puzzle. Having a regular physician often is not enough to encourage your “health” because much of what your primary care provider may focus on is going to be symptom based retro-active care. That is where CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) comes in. Under CAM, falls mental health counseling, chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage therapy, reiki and many other proactive healthcare options centered around keeping you healthy from the jump.
With that in mind, finding which of these fits your lifestyle or budget is the first step. Once you have made a selection based on your needs or wants, building this CAM option into your weekly or monthly routine is an act of self-care!
Whether you are choosing one that improves your physical health, your mental health or your overall wellness- these healthcare options are going to help elevate your sense of self and preserve your health so you can keep giving your authentic self to whatever priorities you may have. When you think about these appointments as investments in yourself, they become necessary parts of your routine.
Saying No is Self-Care
Everyone should say “No” more often. You can tell people your doctor said so!
When you spread yourself and your time incredibly thin, what do you feel like at the end? My guess is probably not great. That is because when you are over-extended, you have left the “self-preserved” safety zone and entered the “self is at risk” zone. It is because of that, that we feel so incredibly drained at the end of times like that.
So, say No! It is an act of self-care to give yourself down time. If you have a family, true down time may be difficult to find. That doesn’t mean that having lazy days at home with your family can’t be considered down time. It is also a great practice to show as an example for children that having a pajama day at home is priceless. Your body and mind need those down days to relax and repair. Often our sense of self has become tethered to a sense of duty or a sense of productivity based on how our society works. That is not and will never be true of health. Your self-worth has to be set free from the boundaries productivity places on it!
Get a Hobby!
Hobbies are an expansive set of things that bring you joy or peace or whatever you want them to. They do not get enough credit as an act of self-care or as mindfulness practices. So often we have hobbies when we are younger, but they fall by the wayside as we get older and busier- but they do not become less important as outlets.
My personal beliefs are that you need at least three hobbies: 1 that feeds your mind, 1 that feeds your body, and 1 that feeds your soul. That may sound obscure, but I will use my hobbies as an example. I love to read, from obscure thrillers to healthcare non-fiction - this feeds my mind. I make sourdough bread and raise starter - this feeds my body in the literal sense but it also is very hands-on which requires focus and coordination on the part of my body. I journal- this feeds my souls and spirit.
Your hobbies are all your own, whatever you need or want them to be. Most importantly, they should operate outside of standard health and wellness information like diet, exercise and what have you. Hobbies are things that feed into you and you only. They come in all shapes, interests and price points so they can be tailored to fit your lifestyle.
So, no, self-care is not just a face mask - it is acts of self preservation and self love that improve your health and overall sense of self through mindfulness. The more you begin to look at these acts as intentional self-care, the more you will see that your sense of self is tethered deeply to your routine and habits.
Encourage that sense of self to grow and be flexible inside of the lifestyle you have or the lifestyle you are working toward!
Love yourself intentionally and wholeheartedly.
