Did you know there are different areas of self-care you can focus on? If you want to lead a truly happier and healthier life, it’s a good idea to focus on the different types of self-care that you include in your routines.
Here, we’ll look at the different areas of self-care, alongside tips to help you improve in each area.
- Emotional self-care
Emotional self-care can help you to live a much happier life. One of the main challenges for a lot of people is controlling their emotions. Without being in control, you can quickly find they start to take over, affecting your relationships.
The good news is it is possible to get more in tune with your emotions. Emotional self-care focuses on activities which help you to connect, reflect and process your emotions.
Here’s some tips for emotional self-care:
- Learn to become more self-aware: By becoming more aware of your emotions, you’ll find it easier to control them.
Start a journal and write down the emotions you experience throughout the day. Discuss what you felt, what time it was and what triggered the emotion. This will help you to identify any patterns in your emotions and the triggers you should avoid.
- Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness is a popular form of self-care. It helps you to focus on the present, calming the mind and body. By practicing mindfulness, it helps you to better regulate your emotions.
You’ll also be able to use it to control your emotions when needed. For example, if you start to feel overly anxious, you can calm the mind by taking deep, mindful breaths.
- Talk to a therapist or not: A lot of people would recommend seeing a therapist. Me, not so much. I think they are overrated and I’ve always been my own best therapist. However, if you feel like you need to, then definitely find one you can open up to and give it a shot.
You don’t need a professional, sometimes you just need a friend to talk to. Sometimes just talking to your cat or dog is a huge help. Do what you need to do.
- Listen to music: Music can have a powerful effect on our emotions. It has an instant effect, helping you to feel happier, energized, relaxed or sad depending upon the type you listen to.
Listening to music can be a great way to control and calm your emotions when needed. If you want to feel happier, throw on your favorite music. Or, to relax the mind, listen to instrumental music.
- Physical self-care
Physical self-care relates to activities which help to improve your physical health. It could involve losing weight, making healthier lifestyle choices, and getting fitter. The healthier the body is, the lower your risk of developing an illness or disease is.
Here’s some tips for physical self-care:
- Drink more water – It’s important to stay hydrated throughout the day. Without adequate water intake, the organs of the body won’t function correctly. So, start by increasing the amount of water you drink each day.
- Go for a walk – Staying active is crucial for peak physical health. However, you don’t have to spend hours in the gym. Getting out for a nice walk can do wonders for both your physical and your mental health.
- Try Zumba – The point of physical self-care is to do something you enjoy. So, if you’re looking to improve your fitness, why not try a Zumba class? This is a fun, popular workout activity that can burn a lot of calories in one session. But don’t forget things like general aerobics. My all time favorite is still Bodies in Motion with Gilad. I crushed on him when I was 18…and may still be crushing on him. LOL. There’s also weight lifting for strength or endurance. I like Caroline Girvan.
- Practical self-care
Practical self-care relates to tasks which fulfill the core aspects of your life. It is about avoiding potential stressful situations in future. Your finances, career and home organization skills fit into this area.
Here are some tips for practical self-care:
- Create and follow a budget – This will help you to get to grips with your finances.
- Open a savings account – Saving towards the future is a great self-care goal. So, if you don’t already have one, open a new savings account.
- Take a professional development course – Progressing in your career can open more opportunities and make you happier.
- Organize your closet – Sell or donate any clothes you no longer wear and organize your closet space. You might be surprised how beneficial this can be for the mind.
- Mental self-care
One of the most common areas of self-care that most people want to improve is mental self-care. This relates to activities which help to clear the mind and boost the mood. Mental health issues are especially prevalent in society so figuring out ways to improve your mental state is crucial.
Here are some mental self-care tips you can use as an example:
- Read a book – Reading a book can help distract the mind. It is a relaxing activity that can help you to briefly escape into another world. You could also read self-help books to boost your self-care efforts.
- Take a day trip – Sometimes it can really help to just get away from everything for a few hours. Take a day trip somewhere new and see just how much better you feel when you return home.
- Solve puzzles – Another great distraction self-care tip is to solve puzzles. This can really help to boost mental focus too, helping to prevent conditions such as Dementia in later life.
- Start a gratitude journal – A gratitude journal is known to have wonderful effects on your mental health. It trains the brain to become more positive. Writing in a gratitude journal for 21 days can have a significant impact on your mental wellbeing. You can find a variety of journals on my Journals Page.
- Social self-care
Social self-care focuses on nurturing your relationships. Healthy friendships are crucial to our wellbeing. There have been numerous studies which have revealed the importance of good social connections in terms of our health and wellbeing. So, what type of self-care tasks can you utilize to improve these social connections?
Here’s some social self-care activities you can try:
- Make time to call family – Set a regular time to call family to catch up. It could be calling your mom once a week or giving your grandfather a call. Maintaining family connections is very important.
- Set up a lunch date with friends – If you need to spend more time with friends, start by setting up a lunch date. This gives you a great opportunity to catch up.
- Join a new local class – If you need to make new friends, joining a local class can help. It could be a local exercise class, or a hobby such as painting or dancing.
- Spiritual self-care
Finally, spiritual self-care helps you identify and connect to your inner self in a better way. It doesn’t have to be religious, although for some people, that is the main focus of their spiritual self-care.
Here are some tips for spiritual self-care activities you can follow:
- Meditation – Taking just 10 minutes out each day to meditate can help you to better connect to your inner self.
- Going to church – If you are religious, going to church regularly can help you to feel more aligned with who you really are. It will also help to strengthen your relationship with God.
- Self-reflection – Practicing self-reflection can help you to understand who you are and what matters to you. You’ll also be able to identify any areas you need to improve on. Check out my free content – Journals or Worksheets.
These are the six main areas of self-care you’ll want to focus on. The key to mastering self-care is to boost your self-esteem, become more self-aware and to focus on self-respect.
All the best,
Patti
