Greetings and welcome to Encantada Maria where we hold discussions on self care and personal growth. In this post, we will be exploring the 6 areas of self care and why you should incorporate a self care practice into your daily routine.
What is self care?
Self care is the practice of taking time out of your day to identify and take care of your personal needs in various areas of your life.
What are the 6 areas of self care?
Six areas of self-care are commonly practiced: emotional, practical, physical, mental, social, and spiritual.
Before we dive into discussing the different areas of self-care, let’s explore the concept of self care a little more.
When I first started my self-care journey, my experience was somewhat of a love-hate relationship.
I realized that I was stressed from work and school, and knew that I needed to engage in some sort of activity to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
At the same time, it seemed that all popular social media self care tips and routines involved a face-mask, glass of wine, and binge-eating chocolate.
These routines of over-indulgence and “treating myself” rarely helped with my stress and usually left me feeling more miserable.
Because of this, I dismissed self care as something that just wasn’t for me.
I carried on with this mentality for a while.
Although I had no outlet or rest from the stress I faced at work and school, I continued to ignore the concept of self care and avoided developing a routine at the expense of my personal health and others around me.
After months of subjecting myself to this mentality, I decided to revisit the concept, and instead of relying on the popularized routines that I found on social media, I decided to take a deep dive into self-care research.
Only then did I discover that self care is so much more than just engaging in gratification that makes you happy in the moment.
The concept of self care encompasses all things that involve taking care of yourself (which, although the term is pretty self explanatory, took me a while to actually realize what that means). In reality, I’ve been practicing all of my life.
Scheduling a doctor visit when I started to feel under the weather is a form of self care. Keeping a diary to get negative thoughts off of my chest is a form of self care. Keeping a detailed planner to make sure that I don’t miss a deadline is a form of self care.
All this to say that the concept of self care depends on the person practicing self care. Not every self-care routine will work best for you, so don’t get discouraged if a published self care routine doesn’t necessarily “work” for you. The key to practicing self-care is to direct your focus internally – take note of what forms of self care work best for you.
What are the 6 areas of self care?
Now that we’ve discussed the concept of self care as a whole, let’s take a little time to explore the six areas of self care: emotional, practical, physical, mental, social, and spiritual.
1) Emotional
Emotional self care is the practice of exploring and addressing your emotional feelings and needs. When practicing emotional self care, it is important to first identify what emotions you are feeling in the moment, then allow yourself to feel those emotions in a safe and healthy manner.
For example, if you discover that you are upset, rather than bottle up that frustration, try to get to the root of what is causing you to be upset. Then, try to think of ways that you can address the root of the problem in a healthy and effective matter.
Some common examples of emotional self care include meditating and practicing shadow work.
Why is emotional self care important?
It’s healthy to allow yourself to feel emotions as they arise. Otherwise, you may find yourself bottling up these emotions which, over time, could result in an emotional outburst that you may regret. To avoid these outbursts and the consequences that come with them, set aside some time to practice emotional self care regularly.
2) Practical
Practical self care is the method of being proactive and taking action to prevent stressful situations for yourself in the future. Common examples of practical self care include setting and keeping a budget or creating and following a cleaning schedule to organize areas of your home that typically get cluttered.
Why is practical self care important?
If you’re like me, you may be beholden to procrastination, especially if you have something on your task list that you’d rather not do. For me, it’s completing household chores that are seemingly never-ending, like doing laundry or washing the dishes.
To help with this, I’ve designated certain days of the week as “dishes day” or “laundry day.” On these days, I make it a priority to handle these chores, and once handled, I don’t worry about them for the remainder of the week. This seemingly small lifestyle change has helped me actually take care of certain chores rather than putting them off for later.
3) Physical
Physical self care is the practice of identifying and taking care of your physical health needs. This includes getting a good night’s sleep, exercising regularly, and drinking enough water daily.
We’ve all heard the phrase “you are what you eat,” but it’s taken me a while to really understand what this means. Sure, if you eat cake and ice cream for dinner 6 out of the 7 days of the week your physical appearance will show the consequences, but your energy levels will likely suffer as well.
Why is physical self care important?
Until recently, my eating and exercise habits were less than stellar. Likewise, my sleep habits were poor and my mood reflected this. With classes, work, and studying, it was easier to grab take out for dinner rather than prepare a fresh and healthy meal.
It was not until I made my physical health a priority that I started to realize the other areas in my life that were affected by my health habits.
As a result of substituting high sugar foods for vegetables, I was able to have more energy throughout the day. This led to me having enough energy to get in a good workout after my full time job.
The post-work exercise not only left me refreshed, but also helped me get a good night’s rest. I cannot stress enough the importance of prioritizing physical self care.
4) Mental
Mental self care is the process of engaging in some sort of activity to stimulate your mind, such as a problem-solving activity. This can include reading a book or completing a crossword puzzle. This also includes the preservation of your mental health by practicing self acceptance and allowing yourself to set boundaries.
Why is mental self care important?
I feel that practicing mental self care is beneficial for two main reasons. For one, it allows you to provide some sort of mental stimulation or challenge for yourself. Once you complete this challenging task, you’ll get a sense of accomplishment, which will likely inspire you to challenge yourself further. This is key for personal growth.
Secondly, practicing mental self care helps you manage stress while practicing self love and acceptance. These two concepts are essential for those trying to practice self betterment.
5) Social
Social self care is the practice of creating new relationships and nurturing current relationships with others. This can include setting dinner dates with your friends or volunteering to serve others in your community.
Why is social self care important?
It is in our nature as humans to be social and establish connections with others. One of my favorite things about volunteering, aside from the ability to help others, is the feeling that I get after I’ve finished a shift volunteering.
It is an indescribable feeling to be a part of a community of like-minded people that work together to promote the same cause. By practicing social self care, you allow yourself some time to connect with people in your community and nurture existing relationships.
6) Spiritual
Spiritual self care consists of engaging in activities that nurture your soul. This allows you to express your spiritual self and develop your connection with some type of higher power.
Some common methods for practicing spiritual self care include meditation or other forms of religious worship.
Why is spiritual self care important?
While other areas of self care focus on your body and your mind, spiritual self care focuses on your soul. Practicing spiritual self care can help you develop your sense of purpose while allowing yourself to find true happiness within.
Finding peace and acceptance within as a result of practicing spiritual self care will undoubtedly lead to benefits in multiple areas of your life.
A holistic approach to self care.
With these various areas of self care, it can seem overwhelming to try to keep up with each area at once. That’s why I recommend that your practice focus on certain areas at certain times.
For example, I like to use the first week of the month to focus on practical and spiritual self care. This allows me to plan my tasks and budget for the month, while also setting my spiritual intentions for the month.
I then use the second week of the month to check in on my mental and emotional self care. The third week of the month is used to focus on my social and physical self care.
I like focusing on these areas on the third week of the month as it allows me to check in on the progress I’ve made in each area and determine what I need to do to finish the month strong.
Lastly, I use the fourth week of the month as a catch-all week. I reflect on my self care practice in each area and see what worked and what didn’t. I also brainstorm self care practice goals for the upcoming month.
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