Self-care has gained popularity in recent years, and it’s all for good reasons. Most people live busy lives, making it almost impossible to take better care of themselves. The numbers show that 2 in 3 people fail to embark on any self-care practice to boost their well-being. This can change if you prioritize your physical, mental, and emotional health. This discussion delves into three types of self-care and what you stand to gain from each one.
3 Types Of Self-Care Practices And Why You Need Them | Lifestyle
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- Mental and emotional self-care
Your mental and emotional health is just as important as your physical well-being. These two are interlinked, which explains why a deficiency in one area affects the other. That is why unmanaged stress can take a toll on your body and simultaneously increase your risk of depression and unrest. This type of self-care relies on managing, understanding, and nurturing your thoughts and emotions. Mental and emotional self-care experts say this requires mindfulness or being mentally in tune with yourself. Mindfulness calms the mind and relaxes stressed nerves, which would have been responsible for erratic behaviors. Take a few minutes daily to practice deep breathing with your eyes closed. This technique is believed to help you reflect on your body while reconnecting with your inner self. A calm mind reduces the risk of mental health issues like anxiety, frustration, and depression.
- Physical self-care
Physical self-care includes nutrition, exercise, quality sleep, oral health, and regular medical checks. These practices are the foundation of a healthier life devoid of lifestyle ailments. Medical reports say many lifestyle conditions are preventable only if people are more health-conscious about elements that negatively impact their physical health. Regular consumption of junk foods, excessive alcohol intake, and sedentary lifestyles are a few choices that take a toll on your health.
Poor oral health is another contributing factor to impaired physical health. Did you know an oral infection can seep harmful bacteria into your bloodstream? The repercussions can be dire if left untreated or undetected. Additionally, your oral retainers must be more than corrective tools in your quest to maintain straight teeth. They must be well-cleaned to reduce the risk of infections, potentially impacting your physical health. The more informed you are about your physical health, the better your self-care measures will be.
- Lifestyle self-care
Until recently, this type of self-care didn’t have a name. It was rather categorized as a subset of emotional health. Self-care experts, however, realized that its content did not merit being listed as a subset of another self-care category. Lifestyle self-care involves effective time management and engaging in hobbies or passion projects. It’s easy to understand why this used to be identified as emotional self-care. Time management and hobbies have a huge impact on emotional and mental health. The difference is that lifestyle self-care ignites your creative mind. It helps you balance work, relationships, and your personal time. Your ability to commit time to each is proof of your creative side. Meanwhile, hobbies like painting, writing, gardening, or photography bring you joy from doing what you love. This rejuvenates your mind and helps your body to heal from life’s stresses.
Remember to adopt this multi-pronged approach the next time you think about self-care.
