Self-Care: Looking After Your Whole Self

How do you approach self-care?

For many people, caring for themselves may include sweating it out at the gym 3 times a week, having a pampering massage once a month, or taking a morning walk every day.

These are wonderful practises to take care of your physical body, but what about the rest of you?

We aren’t simply made up of muscles, organs and bones. We have a thinking mind, an emotional heart, and a human need for connection and belonging.

These aspects of the ‘whole’ person also need to be taken care of.

Think about your nutritional, environmental, social, emotional and spiritual needs. These are small parts that together combine your human experience.

They are crucial factors to consider in your whole person self-care routine.

If you’re not taking care of yourself as a whole person, you may have developed certain behaviours, distractions or coping mechanisms that, quite possibly, are preventing you from feeling truly relaxed, safe, supported, challenged, and loved.

Think about it…

• How are you tending to the relationships in your life?
• When do you set time aside for your favourite activities?
• What are you doing to exercise your creative talents?
• How often are you stepping back to breathe and reflect?
• How regularly are you reaching out for friends and laughter?

Give some thought to the following in identifying any neglected areas:

• Are you using food to mask loneliness, swallow anger, or bury feelings?
• Are you avoiding conversations or emotions for fear of conflict or rejection?
• Are you working too hard to prove your worth at the cost of your hunger, sleep or relationships?

In short, how have you been approaching your own self-care routine? That is of course, if you actually have one.

If you don’t, best to start now in learning how to slow down, breathe deeply, stress less and laugh more.

If you do, think about where you’ve been focusing your energy and if there are any forgotten areas that need some tender loving self-care.

Create some daily action steps and get started making yourself a priority in your own life!

Featured image by Candice Picard on Unsplash.