If you’ve ever asked yourself why self-care is called self-care, you aren’t the only one asking. For this reason, we are starting this piece you are reading by taking a little trip back in time to the 1950s.
Wait a minute. That’s not a little trip. That’s a long way back in time. But, we’ll take it with the hope that it will be an interesting one. So, back to the 1950’s we go!
Self-care as a term was first used in the 1950s in the medical circle to describe how institutionalized patients can develop a better sense of self-worth through caring for themselves and doing what they love. It was also used in later years as a way of understanding post-traumatic stress in people.
It was spread further beyond the medical field and was made popular by civil rights activists one of which was the Black Panther party.
These civil rights groups fought for the freedom of people who were marginalized in their communities. Beyond this, they provided needs for people in the communities.
Some of these activities focused more on the needs of the people they were helping and paid little attention to their own needs.
They didn’t care much about what they are, or their mental, physical, or spiritual help. So to avoid burnout, they encouraged themselves to begin to practice self-care by doing things like yoga and meditation.
Okay, enough history for one day (if you’ll call that history). Let’s dive right into what self-care entails. We must note that self-care is not the same as self-love. In fact, both can exist exclusively (one without the presence of the other). Also, self-care doesn’t mean being selfish. This is a different story altogether.
What is self-care?
Self-care is a holistic term that covers a lot of grounds in a person’s life. It means making out time to pay attention to yourself and doing all within your reach to make your life better. It also involves giving your body what it needs to thrive.
Talking about needs here shows that although the subject of self-care may have some laid down steps and principles, it a not a one-size-fits-all thing.
Regardless of the numerous materials and information out there, you still get to do what works for you. You know yourself, you know what gets you going.
Self-care is doing those things that get you going, even if it is going into the shower, using the shower head as a microphone and the tub as your stage, and having a full musical performance. Fire away, darling.
Do you catch the drift?
In general, self-care means prioritizing yourself and making sure your body, mind and every other part of your life are healthy. See why it is called self-care now?
The practice of self-care hinges on five core areas of your life. You must pay attention to every one of them as neglect of one area or pillar as they are sometimes called can affect other areas of your life. These core areas or pillars are physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual life.
Before we expound more on these five pillars, let’s take a look at why self-care is important for any and everyone.
Why do you need self-care?
Think about this. If you have a tank of water for use at home and you keep taking out of it without ever making efforts to pump fresh water into it, what will be the result?
You are right if you say the water will be exhausted soon. The same illustration applies to using a phone and not making time to charge it.
That is what happens when you keep giving out to different areas and people in your life without giving to yourself or trying to replenish the energy spent.
You are bound to be exhausted, physically and mentally. You are going to eventually hit a breaking point and burn out. Depression, frustration, anxiety, stress, and many other things will begin to surface due to neglect of self-care.
Without making mention of any benefits, we are sure you know a handful of them.
Still, to tickle your imagination, picture yourself in a place you love, doing what you really love and enjoy, around people you love.
Picture yourself having some me-time to pamper yourself a little. How does that make you feel?
Here are a few of the many things self-care does in life:
- It increases your feeling of self-worth, self-love, and happiness. It makes you appreciate yourself more.
- It increases the level of confidence and belief you have in yourself.
- It makes it easier for you to relate with other people in a better way.
- It improves your physical health by reducing stress, improving the quality of sleep, and enhancing digestion.
- Self-care makes you have a relaxed and focused mind hence improving your general productivity.
With benefits of this magnitude, why doesn’t everyone practice self-care?
People attribute the neglect of self-care to barriers like lack of time, the guilt of taking time to focus solely on themselves, the difficulty of changing life-long lifestyles, and also having unrealistic expectations.
We are hoping that you don’t let any of these barriers make you neglect self-care. The results are not pleasant.
Self-care practices you need
As we mentioned earlier, self-care practices focus on five major areas of our lives. Below, we’ll look at those areas individually and see how we can maintain sound health in them.
Physical Self-care
This area is concerned with our body and its health. A healthy body equates to a productive life. When your body is healthy, you can focus on other parts of your life.
In this area, pay attention to the following:
- How well you sleep.
- The type of foods you consume.
- How much exercise do you get?
- How often do you go for medical checkups?
Intellectual Self-care
Your mind is a key area in your life that controls your productivity and lifestyle. It is a powerful tool and a great part of the success equation. You cannot grow or be better than your mindset and gaining knowledge is a crucial way of growing the mind intellectually.
Pay attention to:
- How ready you are to learn.
- How you devote time to build your mind.
- The sort of materials you expose yourself to.
Emotional Self-care
When your emotions are not in check, a lot of things will go wrong. A deep study into anxiety, anger, depression, and other emotionally related issues shows that they can affect health and even relationships.
Pay attention to:
- Any emotional outbursts you have.
- How you manage your negative emotions when triggered.
- How to reduce the level of control your emotions have on you.
Social Self-care
Man thrives on relationships. When you find that you are living on an island without a circle or support system (no matter how small), it means you are missing something. You may be an introvert, but you need people. Pay attention to:
- How much you are there for family and friends.
- How well they can trust you.
- How much time do you make with your people beyond the online space?
Spiritual Self-care
This area of life is usually neglected because people try to avoid being religious. However, it is not just about religion. It is more about knowing and connecting to your inner self.
Also, people who believe in a higher being tend to feel more confident that things are in control because there is a supreme being in charge.
Pay attention to:
- Your knowledge of who you truly are.
- How well you connect with your inner self. You can practice yoga and meditation for a start.
Go through the things mentioned in these five areas and see where you are missing. They may seem kind of overwhelming to deal with especially if you find loopholes in all areas.
However, you can scale through by creating a self-care plan.
A self-care plan helps you to plan on what to focus on, how much time and resources to allocate to those areas, and challenges that may occur as you start off the journey.
To be a bit on the safe side, start small and focus on the easiest ones to tackle so you won’t lose interest.
Also, don’t compare your progress. Go with what works for you.
Basic activities like:
- Personal breaks or sabbaticals.
- Taking a walk.
- Visiting with friends.
- Enjoying a simple hobby.
- Getting the right amount of sleep.
- Talking to friends.
- Going to a place of worship.
- Going on a road trip.
You will be surprised how much impact simple acts of self-care like these can have on your general well-being.
We leave you with this.
If you noticed, the words you, your, and yourself were generously used in this piece. However, we are not preaching selfishness. We only want you to prioritize YOU and pay attention to yourself because you count.
You take care of yourself to feel better and beyond that, you do so to be a better version of yourself to those around you because we don’t live just for ourselves. As a matter of fact, if you burn out, it is to the benefit of nobody.
Kill the feeling of guilt, make that plan, create the time, and begin to take care of YOU. Self-care is a priority.
Do not think that it is a luxury that only a privileged few can enjoy. No. We mentioned so many basic things you can do.
Self-care goes beyond a Dubai vacation or a shopping spree. Find things that make you bubble and glow. Do them!
Need some ideas? How about starting with that music concert in the shower? It will be awesome. But, don’t let soap or shampoo get in your mouth. That’s gonna be messed up.
Go for it. You count.
