Sprinkle yourself in self-care in 2023
We all know the importance of self-care and love as part of our overall wellness but most of us still forget to make the time for ourselves, which can lead to burnout, stress, and anxiety.
Let’s first talk about Self-care. Self-care is not synonymous with self-indulgence or being selfish. Self-care means taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy, you can be well, you can do your job, you can help and care for others, and you can do all the things you need to and want to accomplish in a day.
What is self-care?
Self-care is anything you do to take care of yourself so you can stay physically, mentally, and emotionally well. Its benefits are better physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being. Research suggests self-care promotes positive health outcomes, such as fostering resilience, living longer, and becoming better equipped to manage stress.
Some examples of self-care
Common examples of self-care include maintaining a regular sleeping routine, eating healthy, spending time in nature, doing a hobby you enjoy, and expressing gratitude. Self-care can look different for everyone, but to count as self-care, the behaviour should promote health and happiness for you.
There are a few different categories of self-care:
- Emotional self-care, such as self-talk, weekly bubble baths, saying “no” to things that cause unnecessary stress, giving yourself permission to take a pause, or setting up a weekly coffee date with a friend
- Physical self-care, such as prioritising sleep, adopting an exercise routine you can stick with, choosing healthy and nourishing foods over highly processed ones
- Spiritual self-care, such as attending a religious service, spending time in nature, mediating, incorporating regular acts of kindness into your day, or keeping a gratitude journal.
Why is self-care so important?
Engaging in a self-care routine has been clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, improve concentration, minimize frustration and anger, increase happiness, improve energy, and more
Our top 10 self-care goals for 2023
- Sleep - Build a sleep routine to ensure you are getting the hours you need
- Drink plenty of water
- Exercise - Walking, swimming, yoga anything that gets you moving
- Take a relaxing bath at least once a week
- Say no to things you do not want to do
- Music is powerful so make time listen to your favourite music
- Escape - Get lost in your favourite film or book.
- Eating - Make something healthy yet delicious for dinner on a regular basis
- Make a list of five or more things you like about yourself and re-visit the list frequently
- Spend time with loved ones & friends
You do not need to include all these tips into your self-care routine constantly, some maybe daily, some weekly, some monthly, some may not resonate with you at all but starting a New Year based on you + your self-care will in turn return self-love.
Check out our next blog to discover more on self-love x