Why Self-Care Is Important for Your Physical and Mental Health
Self-care is important for your physical health as well as your mind, soul and, let's face it, your overall health. Without self-care, your relationships with others can suffer tremendously. Last week's blog explained how you can practice self-care on a budget, which is important. But true self-care doesn't have to cost a dime!
Self-care is important, but some people think it's selfish or inconsiderate. We know self-care actually makes you more effective and energetic. When you avoid things that make you feel physically and mentally well, you deplete your confidence and self-esteem. Self-care is important to maintain a healthy relationship with yourself, sometimes called self-love. It produces positive feelings, which improves confidence and self-esteem too.
Self-care is important for your family and friends too. They learn from you, so setting functional boundaries to take care of yourself shows them that they too need to put themselves first and not overextend or overwork. Unhealthy relationships come about when you don't take time for your needs.
Why I Think Self-Care is Important for Your Physical and Mental Health
Everyone I know could use a bit more self-care. The best way to do this is to implement small but important self-care habits every day. Here's how I practice self-care:
The following ideas are self-care activities you can fit into a short amount of time and while on a budget.
Inner Self-Care
- Make a date with yourself. Spend an hour alone doing something that nourishes you, not work or things on your to-do list (reading, your hobby, walking around the neighborhood, visiting a museum or gallery, etc.).
- Praise yourself when you do something awesome.
- Read books and watch movies you enjoy.
- Paint or write something that lets out your creative energy.
- Unplug.
- Journal.
- Learn something new, research something you're interested in.
- Meditate.
- Take a class for fun.
- Take a quick nap. Only 10 to 20 minutes can reduce your sleep debt and leave you ready for action.
- Learn mindfulness or connect with a spiritual practice that vibes with you.
Outer Self-Care
- Eat something you enjoy.
- Have a long bath or shower, sit around in your bathrobe, and read magazines.
- Do one thing just because it makes you happy like my flowers in the video.
- Do a mini-declutter. Recycle three things from your wardrobe that you don’t love or regularly wear or clean out your backpack/purse.
- Help someone. Carry a bag, open a door, or pick up an extra carton of milk for a neighbor.
- Stretch. 5-10 minutes to get out the kinks helps your body and mind.
- Run or walk for a few minutes. Or go up and down the stairs two at a time, get your heart rate up.
- Touch a pet. If you don’t have one, go to the park or animal shelter and ask to touch one.
- Give your body comfort. Pick something from your wardrobe that feels great next to your skin.
- Use lotion or a product that makes you happy.
- Spend time with real friends and other people who lift you up.
Emily is the author of Express Yourself: A Teen Girls Guide to Speaking Up and Being Who You Are. You can visit Emily’s Guidance Girl website. You can also find her on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
APA Reference
Roberts, E.
(2015, September 12). Why Self-Care Is Important for Your Physical and Mental Health, HealthyPlace. Retrieved
on 2024, November 14 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/buildingselfesteem/2015/09/why-self-care-is-important-for-your-mental-physical-health
Author: Emily Roberts MA, LPC
Thank you! This was very helpful!! I am now doing things that bring me happiness....even if it is sitting in my rocker in silence for 10 minutes. Self care is indeed important and I find I am so much happier when done.!
I just came across this blog and your video as was doing my school assignment about iCAR-Self-Assessment. Your tips are excellent. Except for buying a flower for me, which I like the idea, I do everything you said and it really feels good. To take care of ourselves, It should not take too much time even if it does it is ok to make feel ourselves good. Thank you!
I'm glad this article resonated with you. Self-care is something we can all continue to not only work on, but enjoy! Thanks for commenting!@
Hello,
I'm writing an article on self-care for disabled job seekers. A lot of the articles I have read are for non-disabled people. Do you have any suggestions for people who have physical, emotional and mental disabilities?
Let me know.
I just came across this blog and your video while writing my own blog to my people about balance and self-care. OMG you are speaking my language girlfriend! I buy flowers, make a special coffee and make nutritional food etc. to fill my soul. Thank you for posting this!
Thanks for the tip that practicing self-care can help make one more energetic, confident, and effective. Since you suggested to read books in order to take care of oneself, I believe a book that one can read are self-help books. Doing this will not help make one aware of their own weaknesses but learn on how to manage them to have a great life ahead.
My sister has been struggling with depression, and I suggested she try watching some self help videos so she she knows how to care for herself. Your article had some great points about the benefits of self care, and I liked how you said to watch movies and read books you enjoy as part of inner self care. Thanks for the help; I'll share this advice with my sister so she can improve her self care.
Hi Jocelyn,
Thank you so much for your comment and I'm really happy to hear you are helping your sister. Here are some videos on HealthyPlace's YouTube that may be helpful for you and your sister. Let me know and I hope you find this helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym31QzPZof0&t=10s
Take Good Care,
Emily
Hi Emily! This is a great blog! This is so helpful since nowadays, there are many people suffering from mental health problems. This is a serious illness where you can do things that you aren’t supposed to do if not treated right away. For me, self-care is one 1st aid in healing. Depression and anxiety are the two major illnesses that nowadays are spreading (like disease). Seek help. Get appointment from professional doctors. Mental and Physical health is somehow connected because in order to improve mental health, you must maintain/improve your physical health.
Anyways, this is a great blog! I will definitely recommend this to my friends who are in need of this content. Cheers!
Self-Care as desirous habit implies a wide specter of several physical, psycho-social and personal activities that provide us with many pleasurable emotional experience. Even it seems individual and characteristic for everyone, there are some principles which ones should be as frame that must respect and follow up, as well. In this direction prevention of serious somatic and mental diseases introduces crucial step, against common bad habit to avoid healthy lifestyle of living and working. Promptly medication of any psycho-somatic disturbance should be as rule. To be happy and satisfying with yourself it ought to be subdued to rehabilitation measures after any somatic and mental disorder. Your recommended undertakings are in concordance with above mention proposal of improvement of self-care as platform of global welfare, especially mental one. Furthermore, when they are active and creative activities that make us more healthy and more involved on social network as prerequisite of good and acceptable person.
Sometimes self-care is not flowers & bubble baths but something HARD to do like going to a doctor's appointment. Taking care of our health needs with qualified professionals is a basic for self-care. For example, without my necessary thyroid medication no amount of naps will rejuvenate my energy!
Hey I am struggling with studies....instead of sitting and doing physics I spend my entire time either cleaning my room or watching stupid videos just to pass away the time
I would suggest giving yourself a time frame of 30 minutes studying and reward yourself with 20 minutes of cleaning or tv. That way it becomes more reward based and gets things off your to do list.
Yes people have been using my book Express Yourself as a guide for teens to improve confidence and get along with others. I also like Rosalind Wiseman's work. Feel free to email me with more questions emily@theguidancegirl.com
Hi Pearl,
Id suggest taking 15 minutes for each activity so that you feel like you are doing a bit of both. Good luck.