I consider myself a newly-made expert on self-care as a result of my more recent experiences with handling burnout and trauma related to my career and workplace dynamics.

I don’t want to bore you with the details, so I will jump right to the point- caring for yourself is not something you do so you can take cute aesthetic pictures of bubble baths for Instagram. Self care, as far as I see it, is routine maintenance.

It’s like brushing your teeth or getting the oil changed in your car. Sure, you could ignore it, not do it, let it fall off your radar, but then your next dentist appointment is going to be more painful, the mechanic will judge you, and you will burnout.

The goal is not to make your life perfect, but to make your life whole.

That being said, there are four different categories of self care activities, and I have listed them below along with my personal examples of things I do that fall within each category.

Note: While I may not hit all four categories every single day, I do hit them every single week, and try to have at least one day (usually Sundays for me) where I do hit all four. Luckily, some of these things can overlap!

Physical Self Care:

This would be the category I believe to be most over-exposed on social media. It could look like face masks and manis/pedis, but more importantly than that, it looks like taking care of your body and its needs.

That includes everything from sweating it out in the weight room to shaving off your foot calluses. Its not always pretty, but like I said, its maintenance.

Mental Self Care:

A lot of people forget about this, get about half way through their careers, and then wonder why their life has no meaning, or at the very least why they can’t remember where they left their keys.

That sounds really dramatic, but when was the last time you took the time to learn something new? To stretch your brain? To really test the limits of neuroplasticity?

Taking care of your mental health is part of it, but so is stretching into new things and learning.

Emotional Self Care:

This form of self-care is also overlooked quite often and extremely underrated. A lot of people in their adult lives lose touch with friends and loved ones because they are too busy, and struggle with human connection more than we were ever meant to as a species on this planet.

We need community, and that is why it can be so important to make sure you take the time for date nights, reaching out to friends, and spend some time reflecting in a journal. Don’t let this slip.

Spiritual Self Care:

Yup, this counts. Whether you believe in a God or are an atheist doesn’t matter when it comes to taking care of the thing that makes you, you.

This is where things like meditation comes in, so you can disconnect from your ego and realize there is a little bit more to you than you thought. Or where maybe you play with some other spirital tools like crystals or tarot cards, its time to connect with an energy that is both within you and outside of yourself.

Handle with care.

A Final Note:

Self care can be many things, but one thing it is not is selfish. If you ignore it, much like ignoring your physical wellbeing, one day your body, your mind, and your soul will make you listen, and not in a pleasant way.

If you can connect with each of these four categories, these four elements of self care, and be the metaphorical Avatar when it comes to being you, you can restore balance to your (inner) world (sorry, had to say it).

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