Why You Must Reclaim Your Self-Care…Now!

Self-care has become equated with mani-pedis and taking bubble baths surrounded by candles.  While these experiences can certainly be part of a self-care plan, it is so much more.  Another criticism of self-care is that it doesn’t do anything to change the system creating the need for self-care.  While this may be true, without caring for yourself it will not be as likely to be able to continue to work toward systemic change.

Let’s look at the different realms of self-care to appreciate the breadth of the practice.  We can look at self-care in the physical, emotional, psychological, mental, and professional realms. 

• Examples of physical self-care include eating regularly and healthfully, exercising, and resting when ill.  

• Examples of emotional self-care include spending time with preferred individuals, revisiting favorite books, movies, or other media, allowing yourself to cry and finding things that will make you smile.

• Psychological self-care can include journaling, engaging mindfully in activities, and engaging in psychotherapy.  Reflecting, spending time in nature, allowing for experiences of awe, and engaging in religious practices and traditions are ways to engage in spiritual self-care.

• At work it can look like taking breaks, socializing with coworkers and giving each other support, setting limits on time and workload.  Also included is establishing a balance between work, hobbies and leisure activities, advocacy, family, and rest. 

“Self-care is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation.” 
— Audre Lorde 

Engaging in these realms of self-care will not look the same for everyone.  You will not have the autonomy and flexibility to set your own schedule.  You may be working multiple jobs with little down time.  You may live in a food desert or not have adequate time to shop and prepare meals, making eating healthfully difficult.  There is no doubt that there are systemic issues that need to change, issues that result in primary and secondary trauma.  These are beyond the scope of this blog post, but I did not want this post to appear dismissive of that.

To be able to continue to work toward effective systemic change, one must take care of oneself.  There is a “culture of martyrdom” in our society.  It can be considered a badge of honor to work 80 or more hours per week.  Putting aside personal needs for employment or advocacy needs are often reinforced.  This culture leads to burn out and/or compassion fatigue, which can in turn lead to multiple undesirable symptoms including stress, exhaustion, health problems, social isolation, and substance use/misuse. This “culture of martyrdom” needs to change. There are some easily accessed articles cited below that support the need for and the efficacy of self-care while also emphasizing the need for systemic change in the realms of racial justice, environmental stewardship, and animal rights and welfare.