The Power of Self-Care: Why Taking Care of Yourself is Non-Negotiable

For a long time, being successful has been perceived as being busy. Always having to be somewhere, doing something or pulled in several directions at once almost became something of a status symbol. Overtime, overwhelm and burnout became a badge of honour. This kind of routine leaves no space for self-care.

In fact, sometimes self-care is considered to be selfish and there is something wrong with prioritising yourself. This is not the case. Self-care may have become confused with being self-centred which is unfortunate.

Self-care may be depicted as bubble baths, spa days or an afternoon snooze and it can include these things, but self-care is about far more than that. It’s about maintaining physical, emotional and mental well-being.

It’s important to remember that self-care is not selfish, but is actually essential for overall health and resilience.

When work, family, friends and all your external responsibilities become your only priorities, you can easily find yourself giving much more of your time and energy than you really have to spare. The longer you do this for, the more used to putting others first you become. This encourages neglecting self-care and can lead to stress, burnout and emotional exhaustion.

Self-care has a number of important mental health benefits which ripple out to create positive effects for your overall well-being. A steady self-care routine can reduce anxiety, boost your mood and create a stronger sense of self-worth.

Making regular time for your own well-being also benefits your relationships, the work-life balance and your quality of life. For a moment right now, think about yourself. Look out of the window and just breathe. Become aware of your thoughts and emotions here in the present. You might find yourself thinking about what needs doing, what you’ll be doing in an hour, what you’ll make for dinner, how you’ll meet that work deadline – none of that is right now. Focus in on yourself right now and just take two minutes to sit and breathe and be with yourself in the moment. How does it feel?

There are a lot of myths around self-care which many people tell themselves and this prevents self-care from taking place. Here are a few examples;

• “I don’t have time.” Self-care doesn’t have to take a lot of time. It doesn’t need to be an entire weekend, a whole day or even an hour. Taking small moments for yourself count for a lot. Taking a few minutes to step away from your work desk, have a cup of tea and look out of the window gives you some mental and emotional space. That is an act of self care.

• “Self-care is selfish.” Think of it this way; if you were seeing a loved one running themselves ragged for everyone else, wouldn’t you want them to look after themselves? None of us like to see our family and friends overworking and stretching themselves too far and we owe ourselves the same consideration.

• “Self-care is just indulgence.” Self-care is about maintaining overall well-being. We all have our own ways of practising self-care; it may be playing a sport, reading a good book, listening to music (and maybe dancing around the kitchen), meditating, or getting out into nature, to name a very few examples.

There are also different types of self-care and it’s important to maintain your whole self.

Physical Self-Care – Exercise, nutrition, sleep, and relaxation.

Emotional Self-Care – Journaling, therapy, self-compassion, setting boundaries.

Mental Self-Care – Reading, learning, mindfulness, reducing information overload. Social Self-Care – Spending time with loved ones, setting boundaries, seeking support.

Spiritual Self-Care – Meditation, nature or personal reflection.

If you haven’t already then it’s time to make self-care a priority. Consider it to be an important task and treat it the same way as any other important task.

If you’re stuck and unsure how to fit this into your busy days, start with small, realistic habits like 5 minutes of deep breathing, a short walk, setting boundaries (learning to say no) or engaging in small activities that bring you joy (did you know that a few minutes blowing bubbles in the garden is good for you?).

Self-care should be consistently practised in order to maintain your health. Build it in now before you need to as a reaction to stress.

Look at your current self-care habits and find one small change that you can make today.

If you struggle with prioritising yourself, it’s okay to reach out for support. You deserve care too – start today!