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What Does Self Care Mean to You?

Self care is so much more than bubble baths and cups of hot tea. It can look different for everyone. When it comes down to it, it can simply mean being kind to yourself.

“It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary”

- Mandy Hale

July 24th is International Self Care Day, and don’t stop there! Self care is something you can practice every day. Think about taking care of yourself a non-negotiable act of love. You’re the person you will be spending the most time with in your life, so be your favourite self! The better you care for yourself, the better you are able to care for others and put your energy into the things you do.

Again, self care is probably going to look a little different for you than someone else, and that’s okay! It also might look different for you one day to the next. You might be in need of some relaxation after working hard, or you might be ready for a new challenge, it’s all up to you to decide what’s best for you.

Below are a few ways to think about self care in your day-to-day life.

Here’s a simple first step that can be really powerful. Get yourself in a place of silence with no distractions, away from those “weapons of mass distraction”, such as your television, computer, and cell phone. Just be there with yourself, for 1 minute, 5 minutes, whatever you need, and take some deep breaths. This can help you reconnect with yourself, and you might even start to realize which forms of self care you could really benefit from.

You could make your daily habits more exciting, like using your favourite fancy teacup for your morning coffee instead of a plain mug. Add some fun into your day!

Another idea is to try making negative or dull moments more positive. Maybe you’re waiting in line at the grocery store and feeling impatient, and all you can think about is wishing you could get through the line as fast as you can. Whatever is going on in your mind likely isn’t going to make the line move any faster, so why not save yourself the stress? What if you could choose to show yourself kindness and feel better in that very moment? Think about something that will benefit you, whether that is appreciating the flowers at the checkout, or feeling grateful for the food you are about to buy. Doesn’t that make you feel a whole lot better?

Here’s another interesting way to look at it. Do you find it easy to do things for others but not for yourself? Let’s say your friend is feeling really exhausted at the end of a long day, and doesn’t feel like cooking dinner. You would probably offer to cook them something, and make sure it’s something they enjoy. An act of self care might be cooking a meal you enjoy for yourself even when you don’t feel like it.

What do you already do to practice self care? There may be things that you already do that are acts of self care that you don’t realize. Gardening is a great example of a “chore” that can also be a form of self-care. If you garden, there are many ways you can use it to your benefit, such as being more mindful and appreciating nature.

Here are a few more ideas for practicing self care:

- Relaxing

o Read a book

o Go for a walk

o Enjoy the sunshine

- Taking action

o Develop a morning routine that makes you feel good

o Clean up your space

o Prepare some nutritious food

o Drink more water

- Educating yourself

o Attend WCHCs virtual sessions, or watch them on the blog

- Reconnecting with yourself

o Go outside in nature

o Start a new hobby

o Practice gratitude (WCHC has a virtual session coming up on mindfulness and gratitude!)

- Connecting with others

o Asking for help

o Sharing a hug

Given so many options, being overwhelmed by the choices probably isn’t going to do you much good. You are the expert of yourself, and you get to decide how to practice self care! If you don’t know where to start, just choose one thing that you can easily do to show kindness to yourself to yourself. I encourage you to ask yourself, “how can I show myself love and kindness today?”

Check out this great video from the blog about Self-Care and Setting Healthy Boundaries hosted by Jannah Tudiver: https://wchcvirtualhealth.wixsite.com/mysite/post/self-care-and-setting-healthy-boundaries

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