Proper self care is more than just beauty treatments.
It’s not just the next best trend, it’s what you do to calm your mind, body, and spirit. There are so many more types of self care to explore!
True self care is the steps you take to restore yourself.
It allows you to feel your best about your entire being.
So why are so many women only practicing beauty self care treatments?
First, it is the most popular form of self care and the one that is featured most on social media.
Second, it’s the form of self care we have tagged with being self care. But trust me ladies, bubble baths are not the only self care that will relax you.
There are many different facets to self care and we are going to address them all so you can make better choices to care for yourself.
This post talks about:
- Why is self care important for mental health?
- How many types of self are there?
- The 7 Self Care Types Explained
- And examples of the types of self care.
We’re going to chat about how these 7 self care types will restore your physical and mental energy. Because in today’s fast paced world, the importance of self care cannot be overstated!
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Why is Self Care Important for Mental Health?
Honey! If you are just doing beauty treatments as self care, you are missing out!
Proper self care will allow you to balance your body, mind, heart, and spirit. You will feel centered from the inside out, not the other way around.
Outer self care will not fix what is inside you and visa versa.
For complete wellness, you need to address the problem with the right solution.
You wouldn’t ask your service dog to co-sign on your loan, right? No. So why would you do beauty treatments for non beauty issues?
If you’re looking for complete mind, body and spirit wellness; you want to explore all the types of self care and not just one or two. The different types of self care can give you the solution to resolving your problem (aka symptoms, etc.)
Self care provides a wealth of benefits:
- Reducing physical and emotional anxiety symptoms
- Helps reset the nervous system
- Reduces stress hormones
- Improves self esteem
- Helps you become comfortable with your authentic self
- Improves social well being
- & Improves your sense of purpose.
- Reduce being triggered.
- and more!
If you want to learn more about the benefits of self care, read:
How Many Types of Self Care Are There?
There are 7 types of self care.
- Mental Self Care
- Emotional Self Care
- Physical Self Care
- Environmental Self Care
- Social Self Care
- Recreational Self Care
- Spiritual Self Care
Each one helps you achieve a balanced and happier life.
Each different type of self care gives you a little bit of yourself back.
Each one addresses different aspects of your life and how to feel better when you’re not your best self.
The 7 Self Care Types Explained
Mental Self Care: Cultivating Cognitive Wellness
Your brain is the powerhouse of the best creation ever made: YOU! And it needs TLC to thrive.
When you nurture your mind, you are creating the foundation you need to improve your mental health.
Think of your mind like a garden. When you tend the soil, you can produce flowers and food. But when you leave your soil to fester, you get weeds.
You’re tilling your mental soil in preparation for the person your want to be.
Mental self care revolves around nurturing your cognitive health and mental clarity.
Mental self care is stimulating your mind, nurturing your cognitive health, and promoting mental clarity.
Here are a few examples of Mental self care:
- Continue learning everyday! Take a class, learn a new recipe, learn a new skill!
- Create smart goals to help focus your efforts!
- Learn how to think positive.
- Learn to treat yourself with kindness and compassion.
- Recognize the signs of anxiety, depression, and panic triggers in yourself.
- Filling in Crosswords to help with cognitive function.
- Learning to take breaks to prevent mental fatigue and burnout.
- Creating Smart Goals to achieve your dreams.
RELATED POST: 3 Positive Thinking Exercises Every Anxiety Sufferer Should Practice
Emotional Self Care: Honoring Your Feelings
Emotional self care is what we normally see in commercials and social media promoting self care. Think about it.
Commercial: Woman comes home upset after a hard day at work. She slips into a bubble bath and her troubles melt away.
But they got it all WRONG!!! It’s a nice story, very romantic. But it is not true emotional self care.
True emotional self care is learning about your emotional needs and taking care of them in a manner that helps your process what you are thinking and feeling.
And honestly, that bubble bath commercial isn’t it. That’s a whole different type of self care that’s related to this one. –Keep reading to find out which one!-
Emotional self care is the practice of learning to acknowledge and accept your feelings in a compassionate way.
Here are a few examples of Emotional self care:
- Learning Emotions are not good or bad, but signals from the body.
- Realizing why you feel empty & take steps to heal.
- Learning your own boundaries and limitations.
- Learn about adding positivity to your life & positive thinking.
- Taking a break to compose your thoughts.
- Learning that to say no if it’s not a 100% enthusiastic yes!
- Exploring your emotions in the safety of therapy.
- Journaling to brain dump your anxious thoughts.
- Learning calming techniques to soothe panic attacks.
RELATED POST: 8 Simple Calming Techniques You Need to Ease Anxiety & PTSD
Physical Self Care: Nourishing Your Body
Caring for your body is a fundamental aspect of self care and the most common.
Remember that stressed out women from our make believe commercial above? She was actually practicing physical self care.
Physical self care is one of the more common types of self care as well. It’s the basis of many commercials, beauty ads, and self care practices.
Our fictional woman was taking her bubble bath to soothe the muscle tension her emotional anxiety created. She relieved a symptom, but still needed to practice emotional self care as well.
Physical self care helps improve your sleep quality, your physical fitness, and provides essential nutrition and care for your body.
Physical self care is the act of providing nutrition, rest, and care for your physical body, in any state it is in.
Here are a few examples of Physical self care:
- Going to the Dr for regular checkups & when ill.
- Fueling your body with proper nutrition.
- Getting proper sleep at night.
- Practicing healthy habits.
- Doing beauty treatments to boost your outer self esteem.
- Getting a bath to soothe soreness and improve hygiene.
- Going to the gym to improve cardiovascular and pulmonary health.
- Taking a walk in nature to reduce restlessness, stress, & improve health.
RELATED POST: 20 Healthy Mindset Habits You Need to Improve Your Anxiety
Environmental Self Care: Creating a Supportive Space
Your environment impacts your well being.
Studies have shown that just picturing peaceful places can help ease pain, soothe stress, and improve mental health. -Seriously, when you think of relaxing vacations, you picture these calming relaxing places right?-
Environmental self care nurtures serenity and enhances your daily life by allowing a safe and healing space for your body and mind to relax.
Environmental self care is creating a peaceful, loving, and healing environment around you.
Here are a few examples of Environmental self care:
- De-clutter and organize your space.
- Choose a calming color palette for your home.
- Create a workspace that allows you to focus.
- Add plants to improve air quality and sleep.
- Try aromatherapy to soothe your senses.
- Practice a digital detox to unwind and disconnect from the fast paced world.
- Create a personal sanctuary in your home where you feel at peace.
- Create an inspirational pinterest.
Social Self Care: Nurturing Connections
Social self care is all about nurturing your relationships and creating meaningful connections.
There is a saying: it takes a village. When you are living with anxiety, a strong support system is exactly what you need to thrive when times are tough.
By practicing social self care by reaching out to friends and family and embracing the moment, you are fostering your connections that enhance your quality of life.
Yes, your relationships can help you feel better about yourself and the world.
Social self care is the act of nurturing our relationships and bonding with those we love.
Here are a few examples of Social self care:
- Reaching out to your support system when anxious or depressed.
- Having a regular date night with your significant other.
- Having lunch with a friend to catch up.
- Spending Thanksgiving with family members & friends you love.
- Having Game Night and laughing with friends or family.
- Call family and friends instead of texting.
RELATED POST:10 Tips for Couples Who Want a Happy Marriage
Recreational Self Care: Finding Joy in Leisure
Recreational Self care is one of my all time favorite types of self care.
I absolutely love taking time to explore activities & hobbies that bring me joy, as do most of us.
Our down time is when we have the opportunity to get to know yourself, explore our interests, and find new passions in our lives.
Recreational self care is the act of taking time to be in the moment, finding peace in joy and simplicity in activities we enjoy.
Here are a few examples of Recreational self care:
- Enjoying hobbies for anxiety relief
- Enjoying alone time to unwind.
- Going on an adventure.
- Play time with your kids. friends, or family.
- Exploring your creativity.
RELATED POST: 25 Stress Relieving Hobbies Anxious Women Need
Spiritual Self Care: Nourishing Your Soul
Spiritual self care is about nurturing your connection with your inner self, your beliefs, and what you feel is your life’s purpose.
This self care type helps you replenish your soul and give you purpose.
Whether its finding your dream job, volunteering with organizations that share your values, or finding your inner peace; spiritual self care is about becoming your best self.
Spiritual self care allows you to follow your values, beliefs, and ideas. It’s a journey of self exploration.
Spiritual self care is the act of finding purpose, joy, and meaning in your life.
Here are a few examples of Spiritual self care:
- Engage in practices that align with your beliefs.
- Meditate to find your inner light.
- Spend time in prayer.
- Volunteer and support organizations that share your goals.
- Have a job you love and enjoy.
- Find your passions & your purpose.
- Participating in religious practices & spiritual beliefs.
- Being your authentic self.
Wrapping Up
Incorporating these seven types of self care into your routine can have a profound impact on your overall well-being.
Remember that self-care is not a one-size-fits-all approach. What works for me may not work for you.
Listen to your body, mind, and heart, and tailor your self-care practices to suit your individual needs and preferences.
By nurturing your mental, emotional, physical, environmental, social, recreational, and spiritual well-being, you’re investing in a happier, healthier, and more balanced life.
What is your FAVORITE Type of self care? Tell me in the comments!
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Environmental self-care is such a good one! Will be adding this to my self-care routine 🙂
Thank you for including these great self care tips. Mental health is important to selfcare.
Pastor Natalie (ExamineThisMoment)
So many good tips. Thank you for the great article
I must admit that I have not been so great lately at keeping up with my self-care, and it’s definitely had an impact on my anxiety. This was so great to read as I feel I have a few steps I can take to get back on track — thanks for sharing this!