So last week we delved into Self-Care 101 and covered the basics… If you need to catch up, you can do so here: https://isayabelle.com/self-care-101
As a reminder, practicing Self-Care isn't just about spoiling yourself with a big treat or moment of luxury—like saying at a luxury hotel for the weekend, purchasing an all-new wardrobe, or opting for two desserts instead of one. The art of self-care is much simpler yet internally nourishing and one that teaches us to put ourselves before others at times and not feel guilty about it. Self-care should be more of daily practice, often made up of small but impactful intentions, which help keep you energized, gratified, and able to show up for others.
It should never feel like a chore or be expensive in nature. Choose activities you are comfortable with and switch them up from time to time.
Don’t confuse it with indulgence!
It may not be easy for everyone to develop a self-care plan. So, if you are finding it difficult to manage or work out a routine, below are some ideas on the eight areas of self-care and how you can practice.
You can also purchase my brand new Goddess Self-Care Oracle Deck… And pick a card daily to get inspiration! It’s now on pre-sale at an early bird price!
In this deck, Eight fundamental Greek Goddesses whose archetypes inhabit your psyche and guide your life are our guides to visit all areas of Self-Care.
Find out more about that here: https://isayabelle.com/goddess-self-care-oracle-sp
There are 8 main areas of self-care: physical, psychological, emotional, social, professional, environmental, spiritual, and financial. A well-balanced self-care routine involves each of these, so avoid restricting yourself to just one or two pillars. In this article, we'll explore 8 different areas of self-care so you can start implementing these into your everyday life.
Mental
Mental Self-Care involves creating a healthy mindset through mindfulness and curiosity, as well as your psychological and cognitive thinking and your mind’s ability to understand and process information and experience. Not only do mental self-care practices help to stimulate the mind and improve brain functionality but they also help you to develop a growth mindset. A healthy and positive mindset helps us process information more easily and in a non-distorted manner.
Mental self-care activities include:
• Learning a new skill or language
• Setting big intentional goals or mini personal ones
• Reading self-help or personal growth books
• Journaling
• Practicing gratitude
• Engaging in a game of chess
• Practicing positive thinking
• Thinking outside of the box
• Creating a brain dump list at the start of each day
• Taking an intentional break from screen time (TV, internet, and phone usage).
Emotional
Emotional self-care involves your feelings and learning to understand yourself and your emotions better through emotional self-care allows you to truly love and accept yourself.
Emotions manage the expression of your feelings and ultimately your behavior. To practice emotional self-care, you also want to create healthy coping strategies for any stresses that might occur in your daily life.
You can develop your emotional intelligence by:
• Setting healthy and clear boundaries to protect your energy and your heart.
• Spending time by yourself with no distractions
• Journaling your feelings
• Speaking to a therapist
• Having a good cry
• Practicing self-love
• Writing down positive affirmations
• Asking for help.
• Small positive actions like watching your favorite movie
• Listening to music
Physical
Physical self-care involves taking care of your body with rest, nutrition, and movement. Among the 8 areas, your physical self-care is perhaps the most critical self-care because a lack in this area can affect all other self-care categories. This type of self-care is about taking care of your physical body because if you are ill all the time, you are not in a position to do any good to yourself or anyone else. So, part of this regime includes eating a well-balanced diet at regular times, drinking plenty of water each day, exercising regularly, and getting a good amount of sleep every night to boost energy levels and contribute to the overall quality of your life.
You can ensure that you remain in good physical condition by:
• Eating a healthy and nourishing meal
• Moving your body daily, either by walking, running or working out, etc.
• Taking probiotics or multivitamins daily
• Drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up
• Getting between 7-9 hours of good sleep
• Sitting in the sun and soaking up vitamin D
• Spending time in nature
• Having a soothing hot bath or shower
• Trying a new group fitness class.
Environmental
Remember, your environment should always motivate you rather than distract you or make you feel depressed. Take care of the places around you and the places you love, in order to truly thrive. Make sure you create the right type of environment, the one that really works for you.
• Environmental self-care activities include:
• Keeping your personal spaces clean, organized and clutter-free
• Making your bed every morning
• Traveling for a change of scenery
• Tidying and organizing your workspace with a peaceful arrangement
• Decluttering your wardrobe regularly
• Heading to a coffee shop to work
• Exploring somewhere new
• Setting a calm mood in the evenings
• Go for walks outdoors
• Appeal to your five senses.
Spiritual
Activities or practice that give you a sense of meaning provide you with spiritual self-care.
Spiritual self-care aims to nourish the soul so you can find hope and peace in challenging situations. It is different for everyone. Spiritual self-care practices help you tap into your inner being so you can find a deeper purpose in your life. This area of self-care can also allow you to silence the outside noise so you can find internal calm and peace.
Spiritual self-care activities include:
● Meditating or breath work
● Spending time in nature
● Going to a place of worship
● Yoga or Qi-Gong
● Mapping out your core values
● Dedicating time to self-reflection
● Learning more about astrology, numerology or other self-understanding practices
● Manifestation
● Finding a community
● Identifying the values that are most important to you
● Volunteering
Recreational
It’s important to make time for hobbies and activities that interest you. Doing so will result in practicing recreational self-care. Recreational self-care also means taking out time for fun! Recreational self-care encourages you to tap into your inner child by taking part in hobbies that don’t require too much brain power. It is all about enjoying moments that bring you joy.
Recreational self-care activities include:
● Going traveling by yourself or with others
● Having a pamper day
● Watching Netflix or classic movies (if you like them)
● Getting creative by painting, coloring, or doing a puzzle
● Spending time in nature
● Reading fiction, magazines, or comic books
● Playing board games, video games or doing a puzzle
● Joining an in-person exercise class
● Taking time for hobbies
● Going on an adventure
● Taking time to relax and do nothing
● Switching up your daily routine
Social
Self-care doesn’t always have to be about spending time by yourself. Social self-care is your ability to make connections and build and maintain healthy interpersonal relationships with others. Social connections with good boundaries help us to feel loved and less alone but are also essential in developing and improving our communication skills.
Social self-care activities include:
● Form new personal and professional relationships
● Stay connected to important people in your life
● Hanging out with a friend with zero distractions
● Messaging a friend to tell them why you are grateful for them
● Limiting time with negative people
● Reach out to support systems regularly
● Asking for help when needed
● Set healthy boundaries
● Talk to a support group
● Ending relationships with toxic people
● Spend time with friends and family
● Chat with an engaged community online (or build one)
● Writing letters to a friend
● Connecting with friends
● Calling your relatives
Financial
If the words “personal finance” sends shivers down your spine, then you surely need this self-care. But cultivating a healthy relationship with money is essential for our mental health as it helps eliminate stress and anxiety from our lives. Financial self-care can also improve our positive mindset around money, so we feel more open to talking about it and feel less negative towards people who have lots of it!
Financial self-care activities include:
● Listening to financial or money-related podcasts and learning about finance
● Investing in your future
● Setting financial goals for the year, the month, the week
● Using a money app to help you keep track of finances, in AND out
● Saving money each month
● Dealing with debt head-on
● Writing down positive money affirmations
So much for today ...
I would be so happy to hear from you about all that.
Thank you in advance for your comment.
See you soon, for my next online adventures!
Until then I send you love, light and gratitude.
Isaya