The Different Areas of Self-Care in Your Life

Self-care is all about doing things that are going to help you to maintain or gain an ideal level of health, whether that be physical or mental health. In fact, there are eight areas of self-care which can often get forgotten about, but are by no means any less important. These are social, emotional, physical, environmental, spiritual, financial, professional, and psychological. When you are able to address all of these areas in your life, and take steps to do activities that are going to help all of these in a positive way, then you can definitely improve your health and your life in general. But what do they all mean? Here are some things to think about.

Physical self-care

Physical self-care is all about moving your body to look after yourself, as well as doing the physical things that are going to benefit your overall health. Physical self-care could be anything from going for a walk, trying out your favorite braid ideas on your hair, or planning a healthy and nutritious meal, to taking a bath or making sure that you are getting enough sleep each night. When you are doing the physical things to take care of yourself it makes a big difference to how you feel and how you can go about your day to day life. Without physical self-care you can be lacking in energy, have low self-esteem, and can be feeling overall not very well.

Psychological self-care

Psychological self-care is making sure that you are doing the things that are going to benefit your mind and help you take care of stress and your mental health. This could be wanting to learn something new, being creative, or just taking time to practice mindfulness or meditation. If you feel better after you have read a book, switched off from social media, or tried out a new recipe, then they are all things that will benefit your psychological well-being.

Emotional self-care

Emotional self-care can be something that is tricky to navigate, as we do all have so many different emotions and it can be hard to know how to deal with them in the right way. However, learning to navigate your emotions and being more literate in your emotions will help you to be able to manage stress and other feelings in your life much more effectively. You might be someone who is feeling overwhelmed with all that you have to do. Simply saying no to something or someone on occasion can help you to feel more in charge and less overwhelmed. Giving yourself time to reflect on your day and how you feel can be part of it, as well as practicing compassion with yourself.Social self-care

When you have a supportive group of people around you, then it can help different aspects of your life. That is why social self-care is about spending time with friends and family, and honoring the commitments that you have with them. It also means that you ask for help when you need it, and you also seek out new chances to meet new people. The latter won’t be for everyone, but if you are a social person and don’t find social situations overwhelming, then meeting new people can be something that is great for your happiness and well-being.

Professional self-care

Professional self-care is when you share your skills, strengths, or gifts with others. It is also about having some clear professional boundaries and living your life with purpose. It could be something as simple as seeking out opportunities to develop in your life and career or can be eating nourishing food when you’re working to give you the energy that you need to get through the day. 

Environmental self-care

By creating a well-maintained and organized environment around you, whether you’re at home or at work, you will be creating an environment that is conducive to your self-care and improving your life. Taking care of your environment could be making sure you are living in a clean and safe environment. It could be decluttering and getting rid of things in your home that are no longer needed. It could also be something as simple as monitoring your time on technology, so that you’re able to be in a happy and healthy environment.

Spiritual self-care

You don’t have to follow a particular religion or belief in order to practice spiritual self-care. When you have values or beliefs that are important to you, then they can help to guide your life. This could be taking time to write in a journal, or perhaps meditation or prayer, if you have a particular faith denomination. Just being in nature can be something that is soothing and calming to the spirit, which is what spiritual self-care is all about.

Financial self-care

By being financially responsible, you are making conscious steps to improve your relationship with money. This can help a variety of aspects in your life, such as stress, so it is something to get on top of and look to improve, if you are in need of help in this area. By budgeting and knowing what is coming in and what is going out each month, will help you to look after yourself financially. Paying bills on time is part of financial self-care, as is making savings and putting money aside, to make sure that you have some for emergencies, for something in particular, or just for a rainy day.

Putting some self-care practices into your life can feel like a challenge. However, when you see just what benefit it can bring, it can really help to improve your life. Self-care shouldn’t feel like a burden or something else that you have to do each day. But by recognizing the areas that you can practice self-care, you can take steps to implement different areas of self-care and it can make a difference in your life. 

Are there any areas of self-care that you find easier than others? It would be great to hear what you think.