What's so important about self-care?

With most if not all of my clients, I recommend a simple (but sometimes hard) exercise: self-care. Many people don't understand why. Some misunderstand what I mean by self-care. I thought I'd take some time this morning and briefly talk about what self-care is and why it is so important to everyone, but especially to everyone who is dealing with mental health issues.

Self-care isn't all massages, manicures, and bubble baths. If those things make you feel great about yourself, by all means, do them, but I'm talking about small things that you can do in your daily routine, as simple as brushing teeth (or other hygienic things, which for people with depression, may seem hard) right up to taking a walk or having an outing with or without a human or animal friend. 

Free photos available at Pixabay.com
The purpose of this kind of activity is simple. It is to feed the part of you that rarely gets any thanks or gratitude from anyone, the part of you that feels alone, misunderstood, or shame-filled. So what you do is you thank yourself, you acknowledge that you are doing something for someone who deserves the time investment you are making. Whether it's two minutes washing and moisturizing your face, or twenty minutes listening to soothing music, self-care gives you one clear message: "I'm worth this." 

A habit of self-care reinforces that message, because at first, you may feel as though you don't believe it. If your background has been filled with people who have treated you badly, it may take a while to start to believe the message that you are worth the extra care. But eventually, you get it. You understand that you ARE worth it, that you DO matter, that there IS hope. You realize that the others were wrong about you, and that you deserve to take up space in the world. 

And THAT's worth it too.

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