Making Self-Care a Habit

By: Tina H. Thornhill PharmD, FASCP, BCGP

We often hear, “you cannot take care of others until you take care of yourself,” but what is “selfcare?” Self-care is “engaging in different activities to gain or maintain an optimal level of overall health that can add to your well-being.” Self-care should never be considered optional or indulgent. Instead, self-care should be done with intent (like the other items on your “to-do” list.)

Why is self-care essential?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, self-care helps us live well and improves our physical and mental health. Do you frequently feel physically, emotionally, and mentally drained? If so, you probably need to pay more attention to an area of self-care that is trying to grab your attention.

Without self-care, prolonged and chronic stress and physical, mental, and emotional fatigue are imminent. This puts your health at risk, you can become more easily frustrated and overwhelmed, and the simplest of tasks seem difficult to achieve, leading to poor productivity.

Focus areas for self-care

Depending on the reference, there are different areas of selfcare. The primary areas include: physical, psychological, emotional, financial, social, recreational, and spiritual.

The most important area is physical self-care. A deficiency in this area can negatively impact the other areas. What you have learned as the “basics,” including exercising regularly, eating a well-balanced diet, and getting adequate sleep, are vital for your physical well-being. In addition to these, try implementing one or more of the following:

• Drink at least 8 oz of water as soon as you wake up.

• Get out in the sun and soak up some vitamin D.

• Spend time in nature.

• Take a hot shower or bath.

Mental self-care involves your mind’s ability to understand and process information and experiences. Psychological self-care improves your brain’s functionality, stimulates thoughtfulness, and helps develop a growth mindset. It helps us to process information more easily. Consider these psychological self-care activities to boost your mental health.

• Journaling. (https:// www.betterup.com/blog/ how-to-start-journaling)

• Practicing gratitude. (https:// www.mindful.org/an-introduction-to-mindful-gratitude/)

• Set goals and priorities; decide what must be done now and what can wait.

• Take a social media holiday.

• Play a game or listen to music.

One of the more difficult areas for some of us is targeting our emotional self-care. It requires us to take an honest look at ourselves and our feelings. Our three basic emotional needs are autonomy (the need to feel that we have control over what we do), competence (the need to feel like we have done a good job), and relatedness (the need to have meaningful relationships and interactions with other people). Our emotions manage the expression of our feelings and, ultimately, our behavior. Try some of these emotional self-care activities to improve your emotional intelligence.

• Spending time by yourself with no distractions.

• Writing positive affirmations.

• Meditation. (https://www. nytimes.com/guides/well/ how-to-meditate)

• Connect with friends and family responsibly.

• Have a good cry.

Your environment should motivate, not distract, you; therefore, consider giving time to bolster your environmental self-care. Maintaining a space, at home or work, that is decluttered and organized can go a long way to improving your self-care. Other ways to practice environmental self-care are:

• Exploring someplace new.

• Moving to a coffee shop, bookstore, or library to work.

• Set a calm mood in the hours before bedtime.

• Taking care of your surroundings.

Financial self-care may not be an area you have considered; however, having a healthy relationship with money is important for mental health as it can help reduce anxiety and stress. In addition to saving money, try these tips to help improve your financial self-care.

• Set financial goals.

• Sell items you no longer want or use (helps with environmental self-care, too).

• Deal with debt head-on. (https://consumer.gov/)

• Take note of your spending habits; stop emotional spending.

Self-care does not mean you have to spend time alone. Social selfcare results in your building and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships. Social connectedness not only helps prevent loneliness but also strengthens our communication skills. Try some of these ideas to improve your social self-care.

• Limiting time with negative people.

• Asking for help when needed.

• Form new personal and professional relationships.

• Stay connected to important people in your life.

• Message someone telling them why they are important to you.

Recreational self-care means taking time out to have fun! Often this is where we play more and think less. What hobbies do you (or did you) enjoy? This type of self-care can be done alone or with others; it strictly depends on what you need. This website provides many suggestions for recreational self-care - https:// notesbythalia.com/recreationalself-care-ideas-to-cultivate-dailyfun/

Finally, there is spiritual selfcare. This self-care aims at finding hope and peace in challenging situations. What could be more personally and professionally desirable nowadays in our noisy lives? Practices in spiritual selfcare help define a deeper meaning or a sense of purpose for us. Suggestions for spiritual self-care are:

• Meditation.

• Yoga.

• Self-reflection.

• Attend a place of worship.

• Volunteer in the community.

We spend most of our day (and sometimes our evenings) caring for others. No one knows what you need more than you, so take a few minutes out of every day for your self-care. If that seems too ambitious, take 2-3 days out of your week (as a starting point) for self-care. Don’t let the start of something new stop you. If you are using some self-care activities, but do not feel that you are progressing, consider trying a different activity. After all, variety is the spice of life!