By now, the importance of taking care of our emotional well-being as well as our physical well-being is highly accepted. But for most of us, it’s not easy to fit self-care into our days, and when we do we often feel guilty. So why is it that even though we know we need to take care of ourselves, we can’t seem to make the time for it?
Perhaps the biggest reason is that we’re often too busy to pamper ourselves. We have so many other things to do and self-care can feel like a big indulgence we don’t deserve. With so many people, responsibilities, and tasks competing for our attention, self-care will often fall to the bottom of our priorities list.
But self-care should also be considered a responsibility to ourselves and is essential to happiness. Taking care of oneself can help boost self-esteem and self-confidence. The opposite is also true; continuous stress, with little or no time to decompress, can cause anxiety, taking a toll on mental and physical health. And unfortunately, the stress we feel on the inside often becomes visible on the outside and can come in many forms including acne, blemishes, and stress lines.
Self-care is an individual and deeply personal process. For me, it can take the form of sitting outside in the sun for a midday coffee break, enjoying a soothing bath, or spending a little more time on my skincare routine (applying a mask, massaging my face a little longer when using a cleanser, etc.). Whatever it is I decide to do for myself, big or small, I know that even a minor moment of self-care is essential for my happiness.
Self-care is critical for our physical, emotional, and mental well-being and shouldn’t be neglected. If you’re not yet taking the time to care for yourself try to start today. Do something small and take care of yourself regularly. Before long you’ll begin to notice a big difference!
