Self-Care, What's in the Name?

In the times of self-care trending on our social media accounts, taking time to care for oneself has become a thing to do. Memes of champagne-sipping, bubble bath-taking celebrities somehow have become synonymous with self-caring. Of course, I know some delve deeper than the aesthetic of self-caring. So, let’s explore that.

What is self-care?

The oxford dictionary describes it as the practice of taking action to preserve or improves one's health. In my understanding, self-care is a verb where you act upon ensuring that your body and mind are sound. We do live in a society that wants us to work until we burn out. Even Steve Harvey recently told his audience on his talk-show that rich people don't sleep. I imagine he isn't much of a self-care guy.

Who needs self-care?

I have made a note in that it seems to be a lot of women are talking about self-care in contrast to men who want to make more money. Remember when you do nothing, you make no money. And yet women in powerful positions endorse self-caring because culturally we believe that women tend to be more self-sacrificing than men.

What I do misunderstand is why self-caring, an act where you must take stock of how you're feeling and listen to your body complaints, equates to bubble baths and drinking champagne. I may be overstating this, but I can guarantee you that most people associate self-care with the things I just mentioned.

I must also add that everyone needs to care for themselves. We often find when it's too late about the importance and the benefits of allowing ourselves to slow down.

How to properly self-care

We live in the digital age, where everything is accessible by a swipe of the hand. We live in reactivity mode, and we must always be enraged. How many of us ever consider what that does to our bodies?

What kind of food do you eat?

What is your stress doing to your body and brain?

Do you ever consider these things whenever you're self-caring?

Did you know you can self-care every day by not participating in things that give you stress?

Walking away from relationships/friendships that are not good for your peace of mind, ones that keep taking from you?

Say no to anything you don't want to do. This is your life, so create boundaries and enforce them. Ensure that people know to toe the line.

In this way, you won't need to a day every month to get on a bubble bath and claim self-caring. You will call this simply living your life. To self-care is to know yourself, give yourself that opportunity. One day sit down and start questioning your thoughts and feelings, bare yourself to yourself. Most of us are operating from unhealed wounds from our childhoods, take note of that. Open yourself up to new ideas and ideals and be willing to be broken.

Make a note of what triggers you, face your triggers and let them know who you are. Tell them you are unafraid!

The right act of self-caring is beyond aesthetics, and when you choose yourself, quite often it will upset people. If your intentions are pure and you have proven so, trust me, you are fine without them. There's no need for their approval. The only thing that will matter is how you feel. All of this may seem selfish to most, but once you allow yourself to understand the nuances of self-caring, and it will become easy to be more compassionate and more accepting.

Self-knowledge leads to self-acceptance, and that creates space for boundaries. Boundaries help with identifying what's worth your energy. And that is the true nature of self-care. Something to consider in your bubble bath as you sip your champagne away.