While writing a recent blog about living with mental illness I referenced, what turned out to be, a great article on the 5 types of self-care. I found it interesting enough that I wanted to take a deeper dive than the brief summary I listed in the previous blog. Let’s start with the definition of self-care, which this article* referred to as: “Self-care involves intentional actions to support your well-being. This includes activities designed to care for your physical, mental, and emotional health.” It went on to point out that self-care and stress relief aren’t necessarily the same thing…self-care is bigger and broader than just stress relief.
This article references* the 5 types of self-care as:
Physical self-care–this type of self-care acknowledges that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind. Physical self-care is literally taking care of your physical body. This means getting enough sleep, exercising an appropriate amount, and fueling your body with foods that are nutritious. It also means accessing healthcare that is necessary to stay healthy, as well.
Mental self-care–this involves pursuit of one’s passions, taking time for hobbies, relaxing in nature, practicing mindfulness, or even going to therapy. Basically, it means taking the steps that you know will help you be as mentally healthy as possible.
Emotional self-care–this means setting and holding boundaries with others to protect your peace, expressing your feelings, and feeling free to do what makes you happy. This form of self care is about improving your mood and allowing yourself the opportunity to experience pleasant feelings.
Social self-care–this form is all about healthy relationships with friends and loved ones, as well as creating opportunities to have positive interactions with others, and yes, that could even include strangers. I’ve written multiple times about how healing and calming it is to our entire nervous system to feel connected to loved ones.
Spiritual self care–this can be about religious practices, though people can still engage in spiritual self care if they aren’t religious. Anything that connects you to deeper meaning or purpose is a part of spiritual self-care, whether that is reflection on your values or meditating in nature.
This article* also mentions the potential value of focusing on some less-traditional forms of self care. Financial self-care would be taking responsible steps in managing your money. Professional self-care consists of working on the fulfillment side of your job while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Educational self-care refers to learning new things and growing while also maintaining balance with schooling. Environmental self-care is about your immediate surroundings as well as being a part of preserving nature.
Whatever you think self-care is, you’re probably not wrong. When we take specific and strategic steps designed to help ourselves feel our best, we’re practicing self-care. Self-care is different from person to person, but that’s the point. The key is in the word “self.” My self-care won’t look like yours, and that’s a good thing. If we think of all of the different needs that are met through different types of self-care, we have the opportunity to make a specific plan. I also think that viewing self-care as having multiple types and purposes helps to dismiss the knee-jerk reaction of, “I don’t have time for that.” Maybe you really don’t have time to train for a marathon, get an hour-long massage each month, or take the afternoon off and go fishing. It’s easy to get bogged down if we focus on what we can’t do. Instead I want to encourage everyone to really allow themselves to think deeply about the 5 categories listed above and ask yourself if there are even a couple of things that you can add to your week which would make a small improvement in your mood or sense of peace. Even mindfulness can be done in 60 second snippets within the day instead of an hour-long meditation. The point is to find something that is effective for you. Your self is the only self that needs your particular self-care.
*https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729