What is self-care?
Self-care is the act of taking care of your physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health. It involves recognizing what you need and taking action to meet those needs. The more actions taken; the higher life satisfaction will be.
Benefits of engaging in self-care:
Engaging in a self-care has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, reduce stress, improve concentration, minimize frustration and anger, increase happiness, improve energy, increase physical health, and reduce burnout.
What is burnout?
Feeling mentally and physically exhausted, irritable, stressed, lack of motivation, lack of pleasurable in activities, and decreased desire to socialize. This can lead to a poor quality of life.
Some reasons people may not engage in self-care:
- Perceived lack of time: With busy schedules and an abundance of tasks and responsibilities, it can be difficult to find time for ourselves. However, self-care doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Small actions, like taking some deep breaths or a short walk can be extremely beneficial for our mental health.
- Prioritizing others: Having obligations can lead some people to feel guilty about taking time for themselves. Self-care and mental health are not selfish, in fact they are necessary to be the best version of ourselves. Taking care of ourselves can actually help us to help others, as it allows us to be more present, happy, and engaged.
Here are some examples of self-care activities to improve mental health and reduce burnout:
- Participate in activities that fulfill individual goals, values, and desires.
- Prioritize regular exercise
- Maintain a healthy diet (Healthy snacks and keep hydrated)
- Get sufficient sleep: (6-8 hours a night)
- Set boundaries (Say no to tasks when appropriate)
- Engage in pleasurable hobbies (reading, knitting, sports, cooking, artistic endeavors)
- Practice mindfulness techniques (meditation, yoga)
- Spend time in nature (Go for a walk or hike)
- Socialize with family and friends
- Take regular breaks throughout the day (Even for 5 minutes)
- Read books or listen to podcasts about self-care
- Seek support when needed from licensed clinicians who specialize in mental health
Increasing self-care and reducing burn out is very attainable with evidence-based practices
The licensed psychologists and clinicians at the Anxiety and Agoraphobia Treatment Center are trained in the most effective, evidence-based practices to increase self-care, reduce burnout, and improve quality of life, with both in-person and virtual sessions.