When we say the words “self-care”, this likely conjures up images of bubble baths, spa days, and five-star vacations. I grew up in a different camp- the camp of those who believe that tasks that are part of day-to-day living are “enough” self-care. While everything that I’ve just listed can constitute self-care, they’re not the only things that constitute self-care. All of the survival things that we do for ourselves isn’t enough. In fact, I’d argue that there are eight types of self-care that are imperative for a deeply nourishing self-care practice: mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, social, practical, financial, and professional. Keep reading to learn about all eight types and some suggestions about what you can do for each.
Mental Self-Care
This type of self care constitutes anything that you do in order to alleviate stress, reduce the mind chatter, and create space in that always-working brain of yours. This would include things that bring you peace. That could look like:
Scrolling animal videos on TikTok (guilty!)
Mind dump journaling
Challenging the intrusive and limiting thoughts that come up
Feeding your mind with media and content that is uplifting
Physical Self-Care
This includes all of the elements of taking care of your physical body. It’s managing health symptoms and root causes, as well as moving your body and eating nutritionally-rich foods that fuel you. The important thing here is to ditch everything the world tells you is a one-size-fits-all approach to health and doing what’s right for you.
That could look like:
Spending time in the gym
Going for walks
Dancing
Requesting and taking tests that give you an idea of what’s actually occurring in your body
Preparing nutritious meals
Making appointments with doctors and specialists…and going to them
And yes…it could also mean a bubble bath!
Emotional Self-Care This is all about feeling your feelings to completion and letting them move through you. I want to really emphasize that last part of the sentence because this isn’t about ruminating on the past or fretting about the future. It’s about feeling everything fully, letting those emotions be as big as they want to be.
This could look like:
Crying
Punching/screaming into pillows
Allowing yourself to jump up and down with joy
Celebrating your wins loudly
Being fully present in gratitude
Spiritual Self-Care
This is anything having to do with your spiritual practice, whatever makes you feel connected to a Higher Power/Source/Universe- whatever you call this “something more.” This could be a wide range of things depending on your faith/religion/spirituality.
This could look like:
Reading a religious/spiritual text
Meditation
Listening to podcasts by spiritual leaders
Prayer
Going to sessions with healers: Akashic Records/emotional clearing/past life regression
Sex and intimacy- orgasmic energy is highly spiritual in my book!
Social Self-Care
I’ve been seeing a lot of arguments on the internet lately about how we do people a disservice by encouraging people to engage in self-care when what they truly need is connection and community. I argue that connection and community is a part of self-care!
This can look very different for you depending on whether you consider yourself more introverted or extroverted:
Introverts who already spend a lot of time with themselves might need to go out (gasp!)
Extroverts who already spend a lot of time with others might need more time alone
Going to events
Chatting on the phone with a friend
Participating in a supportive community like The Expression Academy or the Unstuck Yourself Academy
Date night/family night
Professional Self-Care
This isn’t just about doing your job well; it’s about all of the elements that go into you doing your job well. As with many of the other types of self-care, this will vary greatly depending on your career/vocation.
This could look like:
Investing time in professional development
Scheduling meetings with your colleagues
Setting up systems and structures that keep you organized
Turning off your cell phone to minimize distractions
Taking your vacation time
Practical Self-Care
This is all of the tasks that go into everyday living. This consists of all the basics- food, shelter, and clothing. I like to joke that it’s all the stuff that we don’t really like to do, but tends to make up a lot of our lives as adults.
This could look like:
Cleaning the house
Meal planning
Cooking
Grocery shopping
Doing the laundry
Decluttering
Financial Self-Care
This is all of the things that go into taking care of your money. Again, this will vary depending on how your money goes to you- whether in the form of employment or entrepreneurship.
This could look like:
Creating a budget
Double checking your accounts to make sure you’re not being double-charged for anything
Tracking your income
Filing your taxes
Paying your taxes
Paying bills
Money mindset work
I encourage you to play with all of these different types of self-care. You might have realized in reading all of this that you are engaging in a lot of self-care and didn’t even recognize it. Celebrate that!
Hopefully, you also noticed areas where there could be more improvement. Try out some of my suggestions, or make up your own!
Happy self-caring!
*************************************************************************** If you're ready to stop people-pleasing and start living life for you again, book your Self-Love Sessions with me! These are a bundle of two sessions. In your first session, we'll clear the emotional entanglements you have around your self-care, boundaries, and authentic expression. In your second session, we'll apply those learnings from your clearing session and we'll work together to actually create change in your life. I love to explain it this way: in the first session, we pull out the weeds; in the second session we plant seeds for your new growth. BOOK YOUR SESSIONS HERE.
Comments