Self-care has become a bit of a buzzword over the years. Social media is saturated with influencers posting about luxury vacations, spa treatments, and shopping sprees, but self-care stretches far beyond what the Kardashians of the world might tell you. At Cottonwood, in Tucson, Arizona, we promote a wide spectrum of self-care behaviors to our clients, which they can use to recover from addiction and mental health struggles.
Understanding Self-Care
The celebrities aren’t entirely wrong about self-care. It can definitely include getting a break from the stresses of daily life, but there is much more to it than that. Self-care is anything you can do to promote and maintain your own health and well-being or to cope with illness. It does not need to be expensive or flashy. Most self-care isn’t intriguing social media fodder.
Some examples of self-care include:
- Prioritizing your sleep and making sure you get at least 7-9 hours every night
- Taking medications for medical or mental health concerns as prescribed
- Avoiding alcohol, nicotine, and illicit drug use
- Getting regular exercise
- Eating a well-balanced diet that is low in caffeine, sugar, and saturated fats
- Drinking plenty of water
- Finding healthy ways to cope with stress
- Spending time with friends and family
- Maintaining a tidy living space
- Seeking out professional support when you find that you are struggling with medical or behavioral health needs
- Engaging in hobbies
- Practicing gratitude
- Limiting screen time and spending more time outdoors
Benefits of Self-Care
Self-care has many benefits. Many self-care practices:
- Decrease the need for medical care
- Increase the effectiveness of professional interventions you may receive
- Reduce your stress levels and make it easier for you to cope with stress
- Improve your physical and mental health
- Increase your energy levels
- Help you think more clearly and make better choices
- Increase your sense of connection to family, friends, and your broader community
Limitations to Self-Care
It is important to understand not just the self-care people can and should do but also what might prevent them from engaging in self-care. Self-care is not all that is required to effectively manage mental or medical health, and if they are not able to access professional support, it may be difficult to see the value of self-care
There are barriers in our society that can interfere with a person’s ability to engage in self-care, such as:
- Financial constraints. People cannot always afford their prescribed medications or a visit to the doctor
- Time limitations. With more and more people struggling financially and working multiple jobs, on top of caretaking duties and basic survival, it can be difficult to make time for self-care tasks like exercising, hobbies, and spending time with loved ones.
- Busy schedules. Some professions, such as nursing and teaching, are set up in a way that doesn’t provide sufficient breaks to drink water, rest, or eat a meal
- Transportation barriers. Access to groceries, medical care, addiction treatment, and pharmacies can be limited when people don’t drive or live in neighborhoods that offer these resources within walking distance or on public transit lines
Certain medical and mental health conditions can make it difficult for people to engage in self-care
- Depression makes it hard to maintain a clean home or prepare a nutritious meal
- Chronic pain can make it difficult to exercise and increase the chances of a person developing a mental health concern
- Anxiety can interfere with sleep and social connections
What If I Can’t Do Self-Care?
You aren’t a bad person, and you aren’t lazy if you aren’t able to do all of the things that help you feel your best, but it may be a red flag that you could be experiencing a medical or behavioral health concern.
You should reach out for medical or mental health support if:
- You can’t sleep
- You’re tired, no matter how much sleep you have already had
- You have had changes to your appetite
- You have a hard time getting out of bed or doing other important tasks because of decreased energy levels
- You’re having trouble focusing
- You feel numb or difficult emotions frequently
- You have a hard time completing tasks
- You feel restless, irritable, or frustrated often
The ultimate self-care practice to remember is self-compassion. Instead of being critical of yourself, being unable to do all of the self-care practices you might like, treat yourself the way you would treat a friend:
- Lead with acceptance for who you are today
- Understand that you are a work in progress
- Celebrate the successes you are having with self-care, even if you aren’t doing everything, recognize what you are doing, and build on that.
- Practice moderation. Recognize that what you need may not always be to push harder, but to take a break.
- Recognize that it is normal and human to struggle.
- Allow yourself to feel your emotions without judgment. Feeling angry, sad, or confused doesn’t mean you’re a bad or ungrateful person
Cottonwood Tucson is a holistic treatment center where we value the whole person – mind, body, and spirit. Our goal is to help our patients to find balance, peace, and strength in every aspect of their lives.
