When you hear the words self-care do you think of taking a bubble bath or something more?
Most people when they hear those words, their minds typically jumps to things such as sleeping in or maybe taking a nap. However, did you know there’s several different types of self-care that you can focus on?
If you really want to achieve all the benefits of self-care, then it’s a must that you engage in as many different forms of self-care that you can. But that brings up the question, what are the different types of self-care and what do they consist of?
Read on to find out about the 5 types of self-care that you should consider incorporating into your life.
1. Emotional
Your emotional wellbeing has a huge impact on your overall quality of life. It ties in to how happy you feel daily and how satisfied you are with your life overall. Therefore, if you want to improve your wellbeing, you need to focus on emotional self-care.
This type of self-care is all about dealing with your emotions. Much like stress management is all about managing your stress before your stress manages you, emotional self-care is all about controlling the way you feel, rather than letting your emotions control you. Engaging in emotional self-care helps you to become more aware of your emotions and express them in a healthier way.
Examples of emotional self-care are:
Seeing a therapist
Listening to music
2. Physical
To stay healthy, you’ve gotta take care of your body’s needs. That is, making sure you get enough sleep, drinking plenty of water and exercising regularly. However, physical self-care is more than just healthy eating and staying active.
When you’re focusing on physical self-care, you should make sure that you’re not adopting any unhealthy coping mechanisms such as binge eating or missing sleep. It means taking time out when you’re sick to rest and going to medical appointments whenever you need to.
When it comes to exercise, if you haven’t done it in a while, start small. There’s a great website called Darebee that has a ton of exercises and exercise challenges for all levels so you won’t ever be bored.
3. Spiritual
Spiritual self-care is often associated with religion. And while that can be true. Spiritual self-care is basically anything which nurtures your spirit.
As humans, we are not just made of mind and body, our spirits or souls are every bit as important. So, if you want to lead a truly healthy and happy life, you need to make sure your mind, body and spirit are equally taken care of.
Some examples of spiritual self-care are:
Surrounding yourself with nature
Reading a great book
Meditating
4. Social
The relationships that you develop can play a large role in your happiness. All of us need healthy, strong relationships because we’re generally social creatures. The people we surround ourselves with make a big difference to how we feel about ourselves, how we act and the general quality of our lives.
How is your social circle right now? Even though we may be far apart, you can still remain connected. Whether by phone, Zoom, text or even snail mail; think about ways to let the people in your life know how much they mean to you.
The other way to ensure that your relationships stay strong is to set boundaries. Social self-care includes learning to say no if you need to. You should also make sure to take time to spend with loved ones as needed.
5. Practical
The fifth and final type of self-care I’m going to talk about is practical self-care. This kind of self-care relates to the practical aspects of your life such as your finances, career and organizational skills.
By focusing on practical self-care, you’ll potentially avoid stressful situations in the future. For example, taking care of your finances reduces your stress by ensuring you’re well-equipped to handle any potential future cash flow problems.
Some examples of practical self-care tasks are:
Creating a budget
Taking a course to upskill so you can progress in your career
Taking care of all of these different aspects of your self-care will really help you improve your quality of life and become happier.
However, with so many things to focus on, it’s easy to become overwhelmed, especially if you’re someone who’s easily distracted. So, it’s a good idea to start by focusing on one or two self-care areas and then incorporating the activities that interest you most into your routine until they become a regular habit. Then, you can move on to other tasks to gradually improve your life. It’s all about Making Time.
Let’s talk, which of the 5 areas of self-care are you most interested in incorporating into your life? Let me know in the comments section.
Cassandra Martin-Himmons is a trainer, wellness coach and consultant who believes in empowering her clients and providing the tools that they need to make positive changes in their lives to manage their stress and increase their self-care. In her spare time, she enjoys papercrafting, volunteering and travel. Connect with her on Instagram or LinkedIn