All the stress relief activities in the world are not going to help if you are not taking care of yourself. Meditation will not do you any good if you are not getting adequate sleep. In fact, when you try to meditate, you may doze off because you aren’t taking proper care of your body’s requirement for sleep.
Just the same way, hitting the gym once in a while is not going to relieve much stress if you are not daily feeding your body with healthy, nutrient-dense food. You ought to take care of your basic needs first if you wish your stress relief activities to be impactful opines Shivani Sadhoo.
Self-Care
Self-care has been described as a multidimensional, multifaceted procedure of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being. Essentially, the term says a conscious act a person takes in an attempt to promote their own physical, mental, and emotional health.
There are multiple ways of self-care it could anything such as getting good sleep, having a healthy meal, or relaxing under the open sky and inhaling fresh air.
Self-care is important for developing resilience towards those stressors that one can’t eliminate. When you decide to march ahead while taking care of your mind and body you will be better prepared to live your life the best way.
Sadly, many people view self-care as a mode of luxury than a priority. It is vital to check how you are caring for your mind, body, and spirit.
Forms of self-care
There are several forms of self-care including:
Physical self-care
You need to take care of your body if you wish to function smoothly. There is a strong connection between your body and mind. Some of the things to ask yourself regarding physical self-care are:
- Are you getting proper sleep?
- Is your diet fueling your body properly?
- Are you taking control of your health?
- Are you getting sufficient exercise?
Social self-care
Socialization is critical to your self-care. But it’s very difficult to make friends and easier to neglect your relationships these days. Closely knit bonds are important for your life. To check your social self-care check the following:
- Are you able to have proper face-to-face time with your friends?
- What are doing to nourish your relationship with family and friends?
Mental self-care
The way one thinks and the things that stuff your mind hugely impacts your psychological well-being. Mental self-care consists of things that keep your mind constructively engaged. Certain examples include such as reading books.
The questions you need to ask while assessing your mental self-care are:
- Are you able to make sufficient time for those tasks that mentally stimulate you?
- Are you doing things proactively to support you to stay mentally healthy?
Spiritual self-care
Research suggests that a lifestyle consisting of religion or spirituality is usually a healthier one. Nourishing your spirit does not necessarily have to be through religion. It could be anything that helps form a deeper sense of meaning, understanding, or link with the universe.
To gauge your spiritual self-care health check:
- What questions do you ask yourself regarding your life and experience?
- Are you engaging in those spiritual practices that fulfill you?
Emotional self-care
It is essential to have healthy coping mechanisms to deal with uneasy emotions such as anger, anxiety, sadness, etc. Emotional self-care might include tasks that help you acknowledge and express your feelings daily and securely.
Whether to communicate with your partner, friend, or colleague. When analyzing your emotional self-care mechanisms ask the following:
- Do you possess the healthy means to process your emotions?
- Do you incorporate tasks into your life that help you feel recharged?
Reasons self-care is vital
Having a strong self-care routine has been seen to have a number of health benefits like:
Lowering anxiety or depression, lowering stress and improving relationships, enhancing happiness, boosting energy, decreasing burnout, and strong interpersonal relationships.
Even WHO (World Health Organization) states self-care is important since, it can help promote your health, prevent disease, and assist to cope with illness. Certain types of self-care have also been linked to different health and wellness benefits.
Create your self-care plan
A good self-care plan should be designed as per your life and your own needs. Something that is solely for you. While you are developing your self-care plan the following things could be helpful.
- Assess your requirements: Make a list of the various things in your life and the main activities that you engage in every day. Work, school, relationships, and family are some of those that might list.
- Think about your stressors: Think about the dimensions of these sectors that cause stress and consider certain ways you may address that stress.
- Create self-care strategies: Think about certain activities that you could do that will assist you to feel better in each of those areas of your life. Spending time with friends or creating boundaries, for example, could be a way to form healthy social connections.
- Plan for challenges: When you find that you are neglecting a specific aspect of your life, make a plan for change.
- Take minor steps: You do not have to tackle everything all in one go. Identify one minor step you can take to start caring for yourself better.
- Schedule time to focus on your needs: Even when you feel like you do not have time to squeeze in one added thing, make self-care a top priority. When you are caring for all aspects of yourself, you will see that you are able to work more effectively and efficiently.
This article has been written by Marriage Counsellor Shivani Misri Sadhoo.
Shivani Misri Sadhoo is an internationally recommended relationship Counsellor by world’s biggest and most trusted study and research-based foundation for couples therapy – Gottman Institute. She is trained on specialised key relationship counselling Skills from AIIMS, VIMHANS and various other reputed institutions. Counselor Shivani Misri Sadhoo, is also Certified for Emotionally Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.
Counsellor Shivani Misri Sadhoo is also a Certified Neuro Linguistic Practitioner with specialised training and experience in the field of affairs/betrayals, trust issues, difficulty communicating, conflicting values, bereavement, grief and loss (affairs, separation, divorce, childhood) and emotional health issue (anxiety, social anxiety, fear, depression, low mood).
Currently, Shivani Misri Sadhoo is one of the top counsellors with the HIGHEST Success Rate with over 17,000 happy couples and individuals (based in India and abroad), who has benefited from her therapy. Psychologist and Counselor Shivani Misri Sadhoo not only practice independently from her clinic in Greater Kailash, Delhi, India but also listed on the panel of eminent hospitals like IBS Hospital – Institute of Brain & Spine, Express Clinic, Fortis (formerly) based in Delhi.
