Self-Care Awareness Month
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Now that September has started and the school year is kicking off, stress is likely high, and students may be overwhelmed with assignments. They’re no longer able to enjoy their favorite activities or hang out with their friends as often as before. Ironically, September is known as Self-Care Awareness Month, the time to take care of ourselves and make sure that we’re the best version of ourselves that we can be.
Now, some may think of self-care as overindulging in spending money, eating too much of one’s favorite foods, or watching TV all day long. And some may do these tasks for a day to cheer themselves up. But, really, self-care is a lot simpler than that.
According to the World Health Organization, self-care is “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote and maintain their own health, prevent disease and cope with illness, with or without the support of a health or care worker”. Self-care is a broad concept, one that includes one’s hygiene, nutrition, lifestyle, environment, socioeconomics, and health. Self-care is simply taking care of oneself and doing the necessary tasks to ensure that we’re feeling better and ready to take on life once again.
Taking this into account, remember that self-care is not just overspending, staying in bed all day, or eating too much. Self-care can also include showering the right amount, getting a full eight hours of sleep, and eating healthy foods. Neglecting these things is poor self-care, which can lead to decay in physical health or the neglect of mental health. Serene Mental & Behavior Health has stated that some consequences of poor self-care may be “overwhelming exhaustion, mood swings, depression and anxiety, loss of focus, strained relationships, guilt, loss of interest in favorite activities…”.
In turn, the benefits of proper self-care are exponential. Verywell Health has included some short-term effects, which would be “reduced stress level…increasing self-worth…feelings of belonging”. In addition to that, if one were to maintain their self-care routine, some long-term benefits would be “...disease prevention…healthier relationships…reduced burnout”, and much more.
In case you have just realized that you’re currently practicing poor self-care, here are a few tips to turn that around and give your body the love it deserves. First, make sure to determine your overall health level, and gauge if you need to increase your care or reduce it a little. Then, identify what stresses you and what helps you to cope, and continue from there. For example, if you have a school assignment that is due the next day, but you’re too stressed by it, try working for half an hour. Then take a break for about ten minutes or so, and then go back to your work. And repeat the cycle until your assignment is done.
As for actual self-care methods, if you’re aiming to improve your physical health, you can try a new exercise routine, eating healthy foods, making sure to get enough sleep every day so that you’re more energized, and taking care of other basic necessities. I recommend making a list of physical aspects that you need to work on and creating a schedule so that you won’t accidentally forget a task that you had assigned yourself to do.
If you’re focusing on your mental health, try a relaxation app or meditate a little every day. You can read a book or do a puzzle, play a short game, or talk to someone that you enjoy being around. Other options include doing anything else that’s calming or slow in order to decompress after a busy day.
If any of these methods don’t work for you, don’t worry! There are more tactics or practices that you could do if you want to focus on a certain aspect of yourself. Make sure to do your research, and you may find something that’s just right for you at the moment. The main takeaway is to just take good care of yourself and do what’s right for you, so that you can live a healthy and relaxed life.
