What is self-care, and why is it important? Simply put, it is a practice! Practicing self-care means taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, and mentally. If you want to avoid burnout, learn preventative self-care, and put intention behind how you practice self-care, today’s blog post is for you! Let’s tap into our emotions today!

You’ve seen the Tik Tok videos on self-care, and you’ve learned about the importance of it, but what many people tend to forget is that self-care is a practice. We constantly have to put it into practice to make it a priority in our life. In our day to day, we are prone to try to control things we can’t control. Self-care is part of the practice that will lead to radical acceptance. Let’s debunk some self-care myths together!

Myth #1 Practice Self-Care when you’ve hit burnout

So many of us practice self-care after we’ve hit burnout instead of practicing preventative self-care. One of my favorite psychologists, Nedra Glover Tawwab, said “after care is what happens once we are diminished and depleted. Aftercare is not self-care.” Self-care is a preventative measure. It allows you to regain back your energy. Growing up in a Hispanic household, I often prioritized productivity over rest and self-care. If you’re like me, it’s allowed me to accomplish many things but also driven a high achiever complex.

Myth #2: Self-care is selfish

Self-care is not self-indulgence or being selfish. Instead, it should promote your overall wellness and health! Sometimes it can be selfish, but it pushes you to have healthier relationships overall. And that’s OK! Self-care means taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy, do your job, help, and care for others, and do all the things you need to and want to accomplish in a day.

Myth #3: Self-care is all about skincare and warm baths

One of the biggest misconceptions is that self-care is bubble baths, face masks, and a good skincare routine. It’s less about the actual skincare and more about the time you’re taking to relax and focus on yourself. We often identify the activity as self-care. Prioritizing yourself to regain energy and making it an intentional time = self-care.

Self-care is vital for building resilience toward those stressors in life that you can’t eliminate. Not practicing can make us feel overwhelmed, sad, or low energy. So, what are some examples of self-care (that aren’t journaling, bath bombs, and reading)?

• It’s feeling all the feelings (good and bad)
• It’s creating closure (healing on your own)
• It’s moving on
• It’s noticing when you have the power to make a choice
• It’s making healthy choices
• It’s forgiving yourself
• It’s forgiving others 

Self-care isn’t always convenient. Tap into what your emotions tell you – do you need to cry? Are you feeling lonely? My latest Youtube video above goes into further detail on self-care. Your emotions will be the best indicator of how you need to practice self-care that day. The fundamental principles for self-care include aspects of the individual (e.g., self-reliance, empowerment, autonomy, personal responsibility, and self-efficacy).

To conclude, self-care is a lot of things… and hard is one of them! But, if it were an easy practice, we would always do it. So, comment down below on myths you’ve heard about self-care and what your favorite way to practice is! Then be sure to leave a comment on the latest Youtube video and subscribe for more “Self Care Diaries” videos!

I hope you found this blog post and video helpful! Also, I hope you practice some self-care today!

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