Why self-care is import

Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of self-care as a means to improve one's quality of life, particularly for those who have experienced significant hardship.

Abstract

The article discusses the critical role of self-care in personal well-being, noting that it can vary greatly depending on one's mental state. The author shares their own struggle, revealing that self-care practices like showering and wearing clean clothes are more frequent on good days compared to bad days, which have historically dominated their life. The author reflects on the impact of past negative experiences, acknowledging the difficulty of self-care when self-worth is low. However, a shift in perspective has led to the realization that self-care is essential for personal growth. The article defines self-care as engaging in healthy eating, enjoyable activities, and maintaining manageable habits to foster a long-lasting, happy life. It suggests practical self-care strategies, such as regular showers, facial hygiene, eating fruit, pursuing hobbies, and engaging in volunteer work, emphasizing the joy and appreciation that can come from these activities.

Opinions

Self-care is seen as a dichotomy: either one cares for oneself or does not, depending on their mental state.
The author's personal experience reflects a stark contrast between self-care on good versus bad days.
Past negative experiences can significantly hinder one's ability to practice self-care.
The author believes self-care is crucial for happiness and has only recently started to prioritize it.
Self-care is defined by the author as a combination of healthy habits, personal enjoyment, and activities that contribute to long-term happiness.
The author suggests that self-care can be approached in small, manageable steps to make it more achievable.
Engaging in volunteer work is presented as a beneficial form of self-care that also contributes to the community.
The author expresses a sense of freedom and appreciation from others as a result of practicing self-care and volunteering.

Self-care is one of these issues in life you care about, or you don’t care about. There are days in life you do care about yourself or you don’t care for yourself. That’s exactly my life. I do when I have good days and I don’t when I have bad days.

For example: when I have good days, I take a shower and sometimes I apply make-up (most of my days I don’t, even when I have good days). When I have bad days, I don’t take a shower, but I pull my hair together, my hair is dirty and I wear the same clothes for days. The good days are the opposite: I take a shower, wear new clothes and I have clean hair. These moments are precious to me.

These bad days were about 80% of my life. The negative things that happened in my life caused me the positive side about me as a person. I mean, when you’re hurt that much in your life, it’s difficult to take care of yourself. Especially when you think — at that moment — you’re not worth anything. This thought was in my head for years, until last year.

I thought I wasn’t worth it. In the last few years, I realized that I should take care of myself. I know I have them, but I didn’t take care of myself. It’s hard to turn thoughts and habits around, but you have to as taking care of yourself.

What is self-care?

I’m asking — sometimes — what is self-care? Is there a definition for it? I think there is. Self-care is — I think — eat healthily, doing things you love to do, create habits you can follow and be happy with to live a long-lasting happy life (I’m still working on this one). I’m not saying I’m unhappy, but it can be better. Soon, I will go to do some other therapy.

Self-care is like:

Create habits you can follow and are small

Take one fruit per day

Take a shower at least once a week to start with

Wash your face once a day, preferably in the morning before starting your day

Have one hobby you can keep up with once or twice a week

Talk to someone you trust what’s bothering you about anything

Do some volunteering work

I felt incredible freedom when I take a shower, do volunteering work. You get appreciated by others. It’s also fun to take care of yourself.

Why self-care is important

Self-care is one of these issues in life you care about, or you don’t care about. There are days in life you do care about yourself or you don’t care for yourself. That’s exactly my life. I do when I have good days and I don’t when I have bad days.

What is self-care?

Self-care is like: