Myths about Self Care
1 It’s all about your body
Face masks and massages are often marketed to us as self-care tools, but self-care is not just lighting a candle and running a bubble bath. That is one aspect of self-care, but it’s not the only one.
2 Self-care is only for women
Due to advertising, which tells us that day spas and mani-pedis are self-care, and our tendency to associate those things with being femme, it seems that men miss out. However, self-care is for everyone. It is not gender-based. And who says that men can’t enjoy a mani-pedi?!
3 An annual holiday where you practice self-care is enough
Research shows that consistent, small scale self-care practices are more effective than one big extravaganza a year. It’s the micro, not the macro that makes the difference. That’s because the micro actions are dealing with smaller doses of stress, more consistently. An annual self-care event is counteracting a years’ worth of stress at a time. Expecting one big event to make an ongoing difference is unrealistic.
Facts about Self-care:
In fact, self-care is anything that helps you find meaning, supports your growth or contributes to feeling balanced or competent. It can include daily habits such as gratitude, eating well, moving your body in a way you enjoy or getting a good sleep. Self-care can also look like staying on top of your medical appointments, seeing a counsellor, and staying connected to the things and people that light you up. Other things such as establishing and keeping healthy boundaries, setting up some routines, taking care of your finances and prioritising your needs also count.
Strong self-care flows out of a strong sense of self-worth. The more we value ourselves, the better we become at caring for ourselves. The two work together, feeding into each other.
If you struggle with creating a self-care practice, you may need to do some work with a counsellor on your self-esteem first. Ebb and Flow Counselling would love to work with you on a strong self-care practice.
