what is “self-care”?

I remember the first time I read about “self-care”. It was a post about taking a long, hot bath with Epsom salts and reflecting on the day with soft music and candles. All I could think was “when do you have time for a bath…?” that isn’t interrupted by “where are my ballet shoes” and “have the dogs been out yet”?

That was years ago. The definition of “self care” has certainly changed. We know not everyone can dedicate hours to meditation, lavender baths, and quiet mountain getaways.

Self care is WORK. And anyone who says otherwise has a flaming pair of yoga pants hanging out on the telephone wire. Even when your self-care is watching your favorite show or curling up with your favorite blanket and a book, it’s technically still work. Because that time you spend for yourself typically has to be made up somehow, right? Laundry doesn’t do itself (though that would be awesome), and dinner doesn’t just magically appear without paying a ridiculous amount of fees to DoorDash.

SLEEP is self care. Exercise- not for the purpose of losing weight or toning your muscles- but simply to move your body is self care. That’s a hard one for a lot of people, myself included, but if you’ve seen my previous post about running….well, I’m working on it. I’m putting my headphones on, lacing up my sneakers, and beating feet at least twice a week.

I work with concussion patients regularly who struggle to recover while also caring for their families, working, and trying to live their lives. One of my most common (and probably cliché) phrases is, “You can’t pour from an empty cup”. I know, I’ve tried. I skimped on self-care for longer than I’d like to admit. And it wasn’t just me that suffered. My family felt the effects. I wasn’t happy and it bled into every aspect of my life. I slept like shit which led me to crave all sorts of garbage foods (don’t get me wrong, I still love me some garbage food), drink too many Diet Cokes, and my fuse was so short, you’d need a microscope to find it.

I’d like to say I’ve reached the pinnacle of “well being and self care” but that would be a load of elephant shit. But I’m working on it and working hard.

I’ve cut out alcohol - probably not forever but at least until I reach some of my other goals. I have goals in my planner that include drinking 3L of water a day, meditating or journaling at least 4/week, stretching daily, and running or going to Orange Theory 2-3/week.

For fun, my goal is to try one new recipe per week, keep this blog updated, and spend more time with my family doing things such as bike rides, fall festivals, etc.

What do you do for self care? What do you wish you did? Leave a comment below or send me a message!