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When it comes to the basics of self care, we first have to dive into the basic forms of self care.
Basic Forms of Self Care
Everyone knows what self care is, right? Bubble baths and bath bombs have given self care quite a name but there is so much more to it than those two things.
There are six basic forms of self care and each of them serves as an attempt to care for a certain aspect of your life.
The six basic forms of self care include:
- mental self care
- emotional self care
- physical self care
- social self care
- practical self care
Here is a look at what those types of self care mean:
Emotional Self-Care
In simple terms, emotional self-care is the act of recognizing and acknowledging your emotions and taking care of them. A super common example of not taking care of your emotional needs, that I fall into often, is becoming super aggravated and just burnt-out.
Working towards becoming emotionally aware is a great first step to being able to take care of yourself emotionally.
Physical Self-Care
Physical self-care is probably exactly what you’re imagining. Taking care of your physical health. This doesn’t mean dieting and excessive exercise, physical self-care is about much more than that. You don’t have to get caught up in a new diet & exercise routine to take care of yourself.
Mental Self-Care
Taking care of your mental health through mental self-care involves decluttering your mind & limiting stressors. In my eyes, all types of self-care are important, but mental self-care is #1. Without taking care of yourself mentally, you can’t take care of yourself physically, emotionally, or socially.
Social Self-Care
Social self-care takes care of the relationships in your life, from friendships to family to intimate relationships.
Practical Self-Care
The last form of self-care I have to share with you is practical care. These are acts that keep you afloat.
Now with those different forms of self care, there comes many different ways to serve yourself through daily and regular self care.
Essentially, if you are serving each of the six basic forms of self care, you should set yourself up well to be balanced mental health wise.
Well, as much as you can without professional help.
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Here are a few different ways to serve each of the different basic forms of self care:
How to Practice Emotional Self-Care
- Experience your emotions. Don’t push them aside or cover them up. If you need to scream, scream. Cry? Cry.
- Say “no” & stick to your boundaries
- Protect yourself & stop giving your energy to others when it needs to be focused on you
- Talking with a therapist
- Journaling
- Give yourself the Grace to try again later
How to Practice Physical Self-Care
- Keeping yourself hydrated
- Eating your favorite fruits & veggies
- Playing in the backyard with your kiddos
- Resting when you need it
- Taking yourself to the doctor when you’re not well
How to Practice Mental Self-Care
- Unplugging from social media
- Reading a new book
- Decluttering parts of your home
- The over popular bubble bath
- Basically, small acts of self-love that make your soul happy
How to Practice Social Self-Care
- Facetiming a friend
- Hosting dinner for your family
- Making a brunch date with your best friend
- Regular dates with your SO
How to Practice Social Self-Care
- Making a budget & paying bills on time
- Meal planning & grocery shopping
- Reading & learning
- Working on personal development
I hope that gave you a good overview of the basic forms of self care as well as a handful of ideas for how to maintain a regular self care schedule for yourself!
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