Given that today is Day 1 of the May 31-Day Water Challenge, I figured I would take the time to talk about self care and why it is so important for healthy mental health. I remember the first time my therapist looked at me and said, “Amanda, self care is not selfish.” It seemed like such a simple concept at the time, but it stuck out to me because it’s such an easy one to forget.
I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of my time worrying about what works for everybody else and what I can do to make other people happy. On the surface, that sounds like a pretty good thing, right? I’m empathetic to people’s needs and care about pleasing the people around me. It sounds great, but actually, it sometimes can be more harmful to my mental health than I realize.
I tend to always put people first, but then you have to wonder…what about me? And the same goes for you. Taking care of other people is great, and being in tune with the needs of the people you love is an admirable quality, but it shouldn’t mean that you forget to take care of yourself. You wouldn’t leave your friend or your family member out in the cold if they needed some lovin’, so why would you do it to yourself?
It really isn’t selfish to think about yourself every now and then.
So self care can look like any number of things, and what works for you may not be what works for someone else. Maybe you like to blast show tunes in your bedroom. (Like me!) Maybe you prefer to slash some zombies in a video game. Find your own ways to show yourself some love, and then carve out some time for it every week, if not every day. Self care really is that important to your mental health.
Ways to Help Care for Your Body
- Go to the doctor. If you’re sick, you should be getting yourself to the doctor. I’m a firm believer in annual checkups and staying up to date with your medical history. Take care of your body. It’s the only one you’ve got.
- Follow a balanced diet. No one is saying that you can’t indulge or continue to eat the way you want to eat, but food can affect your mood, and therefore, your mental health. Include foods in your diet that make you feel good. You’ll thank me later.
- Get enough sleep at night. Staying up all night may have seemed like a good idea when you were a kid, but as you get older, you realize how vital sleep is to your mood. Don’t just get enough sleep to function in the mornings. Get enough sleep to actually feel good in the morning. And if you’re having trouble sleeping, talk to your doctor about natural ways to help you fall asleep at night. There’s a reason we spend so much of our lives sleeping. It’s important!
- Exercise! Try to do some sort of exercise every day. I struggle with this one too, but it really is so important. There’s nothing that makes me feel worse about myself than when I’m winded after going up 1 flight of stairs. Start slow, and build up to a routine that works for you.
- Stay away from using mind-altering substances as way to self medicate. No lectures here. I’m not going to tell you what to do with your body. Just know that alcohol and other substances act as a depressant, and when you already feel down, it can be easier to fall into a downward spiral. A temporary fix may seem like a good idea at first, but it won’t solve the problem. Find real solutions to feel better. Like I said, you only get one body. You owe it to yourself to take care of it.
- Make mental health a priority. This one is the most important one, in my honest opinion. The same way you’d go to the doctor if you fell and sprained your wrist, mental health should be just as much of a priority. Invest in therapy, and if that’s not an option for you, talk to a trusted friend, or write it all down for yourself. Feelings can cause physical illness if you don’t let them out in a healthy way.
Sometimes we get so busy, that we forget to make time for ourselves. Don’t neglect yourself. You’re no good to anybody else around you if you don’t make yourself a priority first. It’s like flight instructions on an airplane. In case of an emergency, put on your oxygen mask first before assisting others. Whatever you decide to do with your free time, make sure you take a little bit of that time to take care of you.
