REST + RESTORE THROUGH SELF-CARE 

I recently learned that National Self-Care Day is this month, April 5th to be exact. On the face of it, having a day dedicated to self-care sounds dreamy, but what happens the rest of the year?

In my experience as a health coach, by the time we realize we must prioritize self-care; we’re often a combination of exhausted, irritable, stressed, and possibly at our wits end.  We feel desperate for help which then makes it natural to look for a quick fix: we overindulge in our favorite comfort foods, drink a glass of wine or two, numb ourselves through binge watching mindless TV, but these actions are only treating the symptom of an overworked, stressed out life. In reality, self-care isn’t what we think it is.

We are taught that self-care means splurging on a massage or taking a bubble bath (and sometimes those things ARE just what we need!), but true self-care should not be something we resort to because we are so exhausted that we need some reprieve from our own pressure filed lives. If you find yourself having to regularly indulge in the trappings of consumer self-care, it’s because you are disconnected from actual self-care, which has very little to do with “treating yourself” and a whole lot do with making choices for your long-term mental health.  Think of self-care is a lifestyle choice.

We can incorporate true self-care in a variety of ways. Physically we can try our best to get enough sleep, choose to eat whole unprocessed foods more often than not, along with exercising our body.  Mentally we can watch our self talk by not engaging with negative thoughts, practicing self-compassion and acceptance.  Socially we can reach out to friends and family, either through dinner plans or a quick call or text. We can volunteer or even meditate.  There are many possibilities and we do not have to practice ALL these ideas ALL the time, that’s not even possible. But we can make an effort to try some of these actions consistently. Consistency fosters lasting self-care, which is making the choice to build a life you don’t regularly need to escape from.

Sometimes self-care can be as simple as leaving your dishes in the sink, or deciding our ultimate life goal isn’t losing that 5 pounds, or choosing to disconnect periodically from social media. When we embody true self-care, it’s no longer choosing a life that looks good, over a life that feels good.

So go ahead and take that bubble bath and enjoy it!  Just also create a life you love, so you don’t need that bubble bath to escape from it.