The Idea of the Week
Self-care (10-minute read) encompasses the practices we use to manage our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It is about recognizing your needs and taking proactive steps to meet your needs.
Taking time to focus on yourself and prioritize your well-being is crucial to preventing burnout, and the goal is to preserve your overall well-being. Listen to this 30-minute podcast on Realistic Self-Care and How to Bring This Practice into your Daily Life.
A note that we want to highlight from the podcast is that when doing self-care, we are not looking to do “Instagram self-care,” which is beautified and a set-up of what looks “aesthetic” or “picture-pretty.”
After-care, on the other hand, is reactive. After-care encompasses the practices we use to care for our health and well-being after a challenging or intense experience.
Take, for instance, if you were to bundle up in warm clothes before going out into the cold—this is self-care. However, even though you are wearing appropriate clothing, you can still catch a cold. To combat the sickness, you stay inside, have soup, and take medication—this is after-care.
Both practices are important because we can not completely avoid challenging or intense experiences and we still need to take proactive steps before a challenging situation.
Regular self-care helps us build resilience, and after-care becomes a natural extension of our self-care practices after a stressful situation, allowing us to recover quicker, with greater strength, or with more ease.
The Practice of the Week
First, let’s reflect: How often do you spend time doing after-care versus self-care? Do you take care of your needs only after a stressful situation? What do you currently do to care for your well-being?
Next, we found this 10-minute article that includes 10+ (FREE) Worksheets and 12 Ideas for How to Practice Self-Care. There are worksheets for adults, for youths, and for checking in with yourself.
If you need a boost to start your self-care practices, here are 5 short exercises that you can do in 5 minutes or less right now:
- Deep breathing exercise
- Stretch your body! You can stand up or remain sitting for this exercise.
- Mindful pause: notice the sensations in your body, notice your surroundings, and notice your thoughts. Tuning into your body, your surroundings, and your thoughts brings you into the present moment—you are practicing mindfulness!
- Hydration boost: This is your friendly hydration check! When did you last have a sip of water? Take a sip of water and stay hydrated.
- Gratitude journaling: grab a scrap piece of paper, a sticky note, an index card, or something you can write on. Then, write 3 things you are grateful for right now. Or write 3 things that have made you smile or made you happy.
The Thought of the Week
Wishing you a peaceful week!
