Self-care is…
Intentional…
Time set aside for you to focus on you. Uh yah duh. But honestly all of us would probably answer “yes” to the question of “do you care for yourself” but those same people who answered yes to that question would probably be stumped by the question “how do you care for yourself on a day to day basis”.
Necessary…
For survival as a human living in our high-pressured culture. It should be something that “refuels us, rather than takes from us” as Agnes Wainman stated. If going for a walk in your “self-care” for the day but you dread it every day and cancel on yourself most days, that isn’t self-care. That is a chore.
Caring…
Taking care of your mental, emotional and physical health is what self-care is grounded in. We often forget to slow down and care for ourselves throughout our busy days of caring for others or knocking things off the ‘to do’ list.
Self-care is not…
Selfish…
In order to do it we do need to consider our needs, and this commonly gets mixed up with selfishness. But remember that we often need to do a better job at caring for ourselves so we can take better care of and model for others how to do the same for themselves. Meaning; if you don’t care for yourself appropriately, you will not be in the place to care for your loved ones either.
Expensive…
I mean some self-care items can be expensive and most commonly we think about getting massages, going on a retreat or getting our nails done as ‘self-care’. But there are so many self-care items we can do throughout our days that are free (going for a walk, setting boundaries with work or a friend, drinking water throughout the day, brushing our teeth multiple times a day…).
Adding more of…
You shouldn’t be forcing yourself to do self-care. It shouldn’t be something you are dreading doing at the beginning or end of your busy day. It should be intentionally integrated throughout and bring joy to your day.
Crisis management…
Not intended to only be used when you are “super stressed” or “burned out”. Self-care items should be integrated into your days and routine to AVOID getting to those high levels of stress and that lead to emotional and physical burn out.
Shannon Gonter, Professional Counselor in Louisville, KY
Written by: Shannon Gonter, LPCC, NCC
I specialize in working with men and young adults. I am passionate about my career and want to work with you to create positive change. I also strive to create a counseling environment where men and young adults can relate, feel heard, and find new solutions to their negative patterns. Some issues that I most commonly work with are stress, relationship issues, difficulty saying “no” to others, difficulties recognizing emotions and emotionally connecting to others, anger, and intimacy issues, among others.
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