Your Guide To Self Care & Why It’s So Important

When you hear the term self care what do you think of? For some it may invoke negative thoughts of being selfish or consumed with self. Or maybe you think it’s a nice way of saying you’re pampering yourself. Well, self care has many aspects. In general it means that you are keeping yourself mentally, emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually healthy. That’s a lot of ground to cover! Here are a few things to guide you in your self care and give you a better understanding of the difference between being self centered versus self care aware.

Why Is Self Care So Important?

We live in a very fast paced world that places many demands on us at different times in our stages of life. Whether you are younger and focused on your career or starting a family or older and more focused on enjoying the empty nest time and staying relevant, each season of life is full of victories and challenges. Each decade will look and feel different, yet our need to be healthy in all aspects of life is no less important to any age group.

Self care has be shown to :

• reduce stress
• eliminate anxiety and depression
• improve concentration
• minimize frustration and anger
• increase happiness
• increase energy
• decrease heart disease, stroke, and cancer

I like to think of self care as a way to be my best self in order to serve others.

Practical Guide To Self Care

I certainly do not claim to have all the answers, but I have learned some ways to practice self care that have helped me in several areas. Those are the things I will be sharing with you….the things that work for me.

Physical Self Care

As a former nurse, this one is easier for me to give advice about. However, knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things…right?

Let’s talk about staying active. Yes, you knew I was going there. I have NEVER been a lover of exercise. You won’t find me running a 5K or going to the gym. (I’ve done both in the past and hated every second of it). If you enjoy those things then you are blessed because you will naturally want to do them.

Let me encourage those of you who don’t like traditional methods of exercise. You do not need to suffer to be physically active and healthy! You do, however, need to move. Our bodies were made to move and if we don’t use them they will lose function. It’s just a fact. I’ve taken care of people in the ICU who had to practically learn to walk again after being bed ridden for weeks.

Find something that you like. We tend to want to do things that we like, right? For me it starts with walking. I love to be outside and taking a walk with my spouse or my dog is really one of my favorite things to do! You can take walking to so many different levels. Start slow, just move.

After a while, you might want to transition into hiking. If you enjoy traveling, then being able to walk comfortably is necessary. Walking is one of the most beneficial types of exercise you can do, and it does not require anything accept shoes.

Swimming in another very healthy and low impact form of exercise. Look for an indoor facility that offers classes so you can take advantage all year around.

For me discovering Pickleball has been life changing. I didn’t even know what Pickleball was until we moved into a neighborhood that has pickleball courts. I never really played tennis much, but I decided to learn to play pickleball and I’m hooked. I look forward to playing and it keeps me active while having fun!

Weight training and stretching is an area that I am currently working on. Women really need to think about maintaining muscle as we enter menopause. I have been doing pilates from a free YouTube channel and really focusing on preventing any injuries when I play pickleball. My favorite channel is Jessica Valant

Spiritual Self Care

If our relationship with God is not right then it effects every thing else. My Christian faith is of upmost importance to me, so I need to nurture that part of my life. That means time spent in prayer, reading my bible, and being mentored by others in a church or small group setting.

I realize that not everyone shares my worldview or Christian faith, but for me it is the center of everything. Who better to show me the self care I need than the One who created me?

My husband bought me the Spiral Bound Journaling Bible for Christmas. It was my favorite gift this past year. It opens like a spiral notebook and has room in the margins for note taking. It does not replace my traditional bible, but it is a great study tool.

Mental & Emotional Self Care

The mind controls the emotions and going through perimenopause can make you feel like you are losing it in both aspects! So what can we do to practice self care in these areas?

Clearing The Mind, Clearing The Space

One of the best tools to practice mental and emotional self care is to minimize clutter. This means mental clutter and physical clutter. The best two ways to do this are journaling for the mind and organization for the physical part.

I find journaling very therapeutic. Pretty notebooks can be found throughout my home, and I use them to organize my thoughts for general journaling and planning. Expressing your thoughts in written form can be very satisfying. Maybe that’s why I like blogging so much!

I love to organize spaces, and if you enjoy this then it can be part of your emotional self care. I have written several posts on organization and I will link them below.

8 Organization Tasks That Will Refresh Your Space

Closet Organization: 3 Hacks To Transform Your Space

Problem Solving Ideas For Your Home

Learning To Set Boundaries

Part of your mental self care will be to learn to set healthy boundaries when possible. The older I get, the more I understand the importance of putting up boundaries around people or activities that make me unhappy. I’ve learned to say “no” to certain things and not feel guilty about it.

I also set boundaries with social media and that is hard to do as a content creator. When I find that I need a break from all the cyber world, I take it. I usually come back with better content after a break than if I push through a period of burnout.

It could be family members, friends, coworkers…even church commitments. It’s all about balance and sometimes we just have to step back and only take on the things that we can manage. Otherwise, we are ineffective at serving anyone.

Relax and Recharge

Finally I want to share some ways to practice self care by relaxing and recharging. Find a quiet place that you enjoy. For me, that is my back deck or my bedroom. We are fortunate to have woods behind our house, and I have fallen in love with deer watching. They are the most graceful and beautiful creatures.

I enjoy my adult coloring books, and find them very relaxing. It’s also a good way to be creative and unplug from your phone and computer.

I also enjoy doing some light work in bed. If inspiration hits me in the evening, I will sit and do blog work on my bed on my laptop. For that, I love my lap desk that holds all my necessary things close by.

If you have some aches or just want to enjoy a massage, this device works wonders! It also applies heat and can help relax you before falling asleep.

Sometimes, self care is just the little things. Like having your favorite coffee mug.

I’ve mentioned the importance of walking, and if you have a nice place to get outside a nice walk is also very beneficial for self care. Daisy is my walking buddy, and she loves to walk as much as I do. For me my dogs are part of my self care. They are a source of joy and they are therapeutic in so many ways. If you are willing to make the commitment, pets can enrich your life beyond words!

Self Care & Comfortable Clothing

Self care requires comfort, and there is nothing better than the perfect lounge clothes. I have several favorites and I will link them for you. You may also want to view this post on lounge sets.

Also if you are planning to exercise, having the right clothing will help you enjoy it more. For Yoga or Pilates, consider some leggings and loose comfortable tops. I also love these socks for Pilates and this nice cushiony Yoga Mat.

Whether you have a daily routine, a weekly self care day, or are just wanting to learn how to be the best version of yourself, give some of these things a try. Start small and cater your self care activities to what brings you joy and relaxation.

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