THIS IS PART ONE OF A FOUR PART SERIES THAT EXPLORES WHAT SELF-CARE REALLY MEANS AND HOW WE CAN INCORPORATE IT INTO OUR LIFESTYLE AS CREATIVES.
When many people think of self-care they may think of face masks, meditation, pedicures, or even #WineWednesdays. While those all can be valid ways to practice self-care, do we really know what it means?
DARLA has decided to tackle the topic of self-care to give you all the ins and outs in a four part series for November:
PART 1: WHAT IS SELF-CARE?
PART 2: DIFFERENT TYPES OF SELF-CARE PRACTICES
PART 3: DARLA + FRIENDS FAVORITES (PLUS, A SPECIAL SURPRISE)
PART 4: ONGOING RECOMMENDATIONS, DIYS, PRODUCT REVIEWS, + MORE
Self-Care, by definition, is “care of the self without medical or other professional consultation.” This care helps you achieve an optimal level of health through different activities and actions one may take on a regular basis emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially. Self-care can help you live a balanced life.
According to the State University of New York at Buffalo, self-care helps “identify and manage the general challenges” that people face every day and with being “aware of your own personal vulnerabilities.” It helps you “achieve more balance in your life, by maintaining and enhancing the attention you pay to the different domains of your life in a way that makes sense to you.”
Now of course, we all can understand how important it is to take care of ourselves so we can function well and grow. But self-care is sometimes overlooked and seen as a “one size fits all.”
The most important part of self-care is understanding yourself to ensure you’re doing what’s best for you. Everyone functions differently and has different needs. Therefore, it isn’t “something that we force ourselves to do, or something we don’t enjoy doing,” according to PyschCentral. Self-care replenishes, refocuses and refreshes you. Listening to yourself and focusing on what you really need may be tricky, but very vital. For example, some people express themselves when stressed or in need refreshing through writing or creating. For others it could be daily inspiration texts or relaxing with friends.
Because of that, self-care isn’t necessarily selfish or time consuming. Although it does cause you to take time to focus on yourself, self-care practices help you put yourself first in terms of your health and well-being, which should always be a priority. It should be approached just as you would schedule time out to eat, sleep, work, etc. Self-care can help improve quality of life, deal with stressors, and allow you to be at your best.
It’s also important to know that one type or one way of self-care won’t always “refresh” or “replenish” you. Just as everyday can be different, so can how you participate in self-care. Some days you may need to sleep or meditate, while others may require you to exercise or enjoy the weather. Each practice of self-care can be put into four different categories, (these categories may vary by person).
Those four categories are, physical, mental/emotional, spiritual, and social. In Part 2 of the Self-Care series we will dive deeper into what each category means and what kinds of practices you may find in each one.
Already have some in mind? Share us your ways of practicing self-care to be featured in Part 3 of our series via Instagram or Twitter @darlamedia and use the hashtag, #SelfCareSeries. Who knows… you may just win something…
Sources: https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/08/10/what-self-care-is-and-what-it-isnt-2/
https://socialwork.buffalo.edu/resources/self-care-starter-kit/introduction-to-self-care.html
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