Curious about that hashtag #SelfCareSunday posted on social media these days?  While the hashtag and photos on Instagram are certainly appealing to the eye, the importance of self-care seems to be marginalized in today’s Western society.  If you don’t sleep less than 6 hours because you are so dedicated to your work, you are lazy.  If you don’t make every meal for your children and snacks to boot, you are an “average” mother.  If you make less than XXX amount of money, you are not successful.  If you stick to a strict diet, exercise religiously, and drive yourself nutty with calorie counting but still cannot lose the weight, something is wrong with you.

Any of these thoughts or beliefs sound familiar?  We live in a society that thrives on coffee, anxiety medications, little sleep, and AmazonPrime (of which I am a very loyal customer!).  We use coffee to help our neurons fire in the morning and throughout the day, and then alcohol or sleep medications to calm us and help us sleep at night.  If this sounds like you, it’s not your fault.  It’s just the society you have become accustomed to.  However, to use one of my favorite sayings, “When you know better, do better.” Coming to the realization that your time is not your own or that you need stimulants for energy and depressants for sleep is the first step in turning this cycle around.

It bothers me that our society deems activities that truly help our individual spirit or feeling of “wholeness” as a waste of time, or a luxury.  Do not let this be you any longer.

Self care is any activity that nurtures you and feeds you on a deeper level.  We each have many things that are important to us such as our work, relationship with others, spiritual beliefs, relationship with ourselves, our physical body and our mental and emotional state.

Some examples of self care may be:

• Quality sleep
• Massage
• Healthy Diet
• Traveling
• Morning or evening routine
• Reading
• Visiting with family or friends
• Meditation
• Gratitude journaling
• Cooking
• Goal setting
• Learning new skills
• Getting involved in a cause

The list is infinite, but as with your nutritional lifestyle, your self-care routine should be reflective of what makes YOU feel good, not that blogger you are following on IG.

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