The notion of self-care took on a lot of advocacy through the past year, as women and men all over the western world began to realize the falsities of the pressures the media has been pushing on us for as long as anyone can remember. Social media accounts blew up with people loving themselves for exactly who they are, and finally the message – “as long as you’re happy and healthy it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks” – started to sink in.
Due to that message, a lot more people have been able to look in the mirror this morning and pick out things they love about themselves – rather than all the things they want to change due to years of being told stretch marks, wobbles, cellulite etc. are all flaws – not something to be embraced for making each of us individual. As well as working hard to change your mindset, taking care of yourself through pamper sessions and time out is a great way of practicing self-care. Under the umbrella term of taking care of yourself, detailed below may be a few things you may not have considered to be contributions but are just as important to your self care routine.
Check-Ups
You will probably already be intuitively eating and trying to put the right foods into your body to fuel it and help you to feel energized. You may also have an exercise routine in place that takes care of your cardiovascular system and helps to keep your body fit and healthy. However, there are some aspects of health we don’t have control over, and it is good to get everything checked out once in a while. As well as going to your GP to have a blood test and a blood pressure check to ensure everything is in healthy working order, you should also have a regular appointment at your dentist – the recommended frequency is every six months. It is also essential to go for a regular eye test and hearing test. You may not be needing a hearing aid fitting anytime soon, however, it is a lot harder to catch early signs of hearing loss when compared with the signs of needing a filling or loss of sight. Therefore, it is recommended you have your hearing tested annually, and your eyesight checked every one to two years.
Saying No / Being Brave
When it comes to self-care, it is extremely important to listen to your body. “Having a little bit of what you fancy” is not just a saying that relates to food. You can apply it to other areas of your life. If you fancy an evening in, don’t be afraid to ask your girlfriends to rearrange your night out. If you feel you have too much on your plate at the moment, don’t take on your children’s school PTA meetings. If you fancy trying out something new but have no one to go with, don’t let going solo stop you from having a new experience. Self-care is about truly doing what makes you happy – even if that means constantly putting your own needs first. Focusing on what you want in life is never a crime, and you will only thank yourself for it in the future.
If you have any self-care tips you think will benefit others please share them with everyone, and remember to throw kindness around like confetti to both yourself and others.
