When people hear the word “self care” often what comes to mind is one or two types of self care. Usually, physical self care in the form of eating right and getting enough sleep, and emotional self care in the form of protecting yourself from negativity or stress. However, there are actually 5 different types of self care and they all need our attention. So, next time you think of self care, I want you to consider how you can take care of your whole self.
Emotional Self Care
Emotional self care is about listening to your feelings and connecting with your emotional self regularly. Often, in this dog-eat-dog world, we separate ourselves from our emotions in order to protect ourselves from showing weakness or getting hurt. We build walls so tall only a very few brave souls can climb them. And sometimes, our walls are so well guarded, we don’t even know what is behind them. Emotional self care will look different for everyone.
Here are some ideas for caring for your emotional self:
- Journaling
- Therapy
- Reading Self Help Books
- Setting Boundries
- Recognizing Your Triggers
- Practicing Forgiveness (of Yourself and Others)
- Positive Self Talk
- Routines for Self Care
- Practicing Gratitude
Spiritual Self Care
Spiritual self care is about finding the things that make your heart sing and making time for them. These will be the things many of us might have put aside as being unproductive and therefore unimportant. Favorite hobbies, connecting with nature, taking time to play, or connecting with something bigger than yourself are all things that help take care of your spiritual self.
Some spiritual self care activities you can try are:
- Sketching/Painting
- Going on Nature Walks
- Baking/Cooking for Fun
- Playing Games
- Playing Sports
- Fishing
- Crafts and Similar Hobbies
- Attending Religious Services/Study Groups
- Meditation
- Gardening
Physical Self Care
Physical self care is anything you do to care for your physical self. This will range from eating right and forming good habits to making time for exercise. The important thing about caring for your physical self is to learn to be in tune with your body’s signals. Many times we have learned to ignore our body when it tells us it is tired or stressed but true physical self care is about listening to the body’s requests and taking time to accommodate it.
Types of physical self care include:
- Getting Enough Sleep
- Eating Healthy
- Quitting Bad Habits
- Exercise and Staying Active
- Not Over Exerting Yourself
- Resting When Needed
- Drinking Enough Water
- Good Hygiene
- Keeping Up To Date With Medical Check Ups
- Taking Medication and Supplements As Needed
- Taking Regular Breaks from Sitting
Social Self Care
Social self care will truly be different for everyone. Depending on if you lean toward being an extrovert or introvert you may or may not need to seek social interactions to feel recharged. Either way, it is important to learn to listen to what you need and seek ways to get it. Even introverts need a few people around once and a while.
Types of social self care include:
- Learning to Say No to Invitations If You Truly Would Rather Not
- Taking Classes/Attending Groups to Meet New People
- Taking a Break From Socializing When It Gets To Be Too Much
- Seeking Out Friends and Family When Feeling Down
- Finding Friends that Recharge You Rather Than Drain You
- Surrounding Yourself with Positive People
Intellectual Self Care
Intellectual self care is one people do not often think about when they think about self care. This form of self care is about setting goals and working toward them as well as keeping your mind active.
Intellectual self care activities include:
- Taking Classes to Learn a New Skill
- Reading
- Puzzles
- Creating Vision Boards
- Hobbies
- Watching Documentaries
- Having Conversations with People Who Have Different Viewpoints
Taking Care Of Your Whole Self
I hope this gave you some insight into all the ways you can care for your whole being. We cannot truly experience the benefits of self care until our whole self is being cared for. What other self care ideas do you have? Anything I should add to the list? I would love to hear from you.
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