Self-care is the process of taking care of one’s self. Women provide the majority of informal care including spouses, parents, parents-in-law, friends and neighbors.
Women play many roles while caregiving that is hands-on health provider, care manager, friend, companion, surrogate and decision-maker. But in a fast-paced and often chaotic society, many women tend to put their own needs last.
So many women constantly put everyone else first, allowing their own needs to suffer. Some women may even become resentful because their personal needs have been neglected.
Self-care for women is imperative. Follow these self-care strategies to help you take care of yourself and achieve balance in your life.
Recognize that self-care is not selfish
The concept of self-care refers to taking personal responsibility for one’s physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual health. Practicing self-care is preventative, not selfish.
Yet the concept of making self-care a priority remains controversial. For most of us, if we do not take care of ourselves, no one else will. So, self-care is anything but selfish.
When women don’t make self-care a priority, they often feel like victims of something outside of themselves, in a position of restrictions and limitations. This prevents women from having rich and fulfilling lives.
Why People Fail So Badly at Taking Care of Themselves
It is not surprising why most people fail so badly at taking care of themselves. Even when you know how important self-care is to your wellbeing, it isn’t always easy to incorporate it into your daily routine. In fact, did you know many people fail when it comes to taking care of themselves?
Here, we’ll look at why women generally fail when it comes to self-care and the main things holding them back. Keep Reading…
It is often perceived as selfish
One of the main reasons people fail to take care of themselves is because they feel it is selfish. It could be that you feel guilty when you take time to focus on you. Or, you may worry what other people think, or that you are a terrible parent for not focusing solely on your children’s needs.
It is a total myth that self-care is selfish. In fact, it can help you to be a better parent, friend, spouse and relative. The more you take care of yourself, the easier you’ll find it to take care of others.
Teaching children self care is a special skill
You’ll also show your children the importance of self-care. Teaching them to take care of their own needs is a crucial life skill that’s going to help them to grow up to be happier adults.
It requires effort
There is no getting away from the fact that self-care does take some level of effort in the beginning. When you aren’t used to making self-care a priority, you’re going to need to make quite a few changes to your routine.
Stay focused
Coming up with a self-care plan can feel like a chore, making it easy to put it off. However, there are ways to reduce the effort. For example, focusing on one thig you want to improve at a time can really help.
Perhaps you’d like to start working out more? Scheduling time to exercise as soon as you wake up for example, can be a great start. Or, if you’re looking to drink more water, focus on that goal first.
If you break down your self-care tasks, it makes them much easier, reducing a lot of the effort involved.
Different approaches work for different people
Every one of us is different, which means we enjoy and dislike different things. When you initially look at examples of self-care, you’ll find a lot of them relate to things like reading a book or taking a hot bubble bath.
These types of activities aren’t for everyone so they might feel self-care really isn’t for them.
Self-care should be personal to your own needs
Self-care isn’t just bubble baths, yoga, and meditation. It is anything that relaxes and takes care of you. So, if you find going for a run is a more effective way of feeling good, that would be classed as a self-care task.
If you find one self-care approach isn’t working, try something else. Self-care should be personal to your own needs.
These are the most common reasons people fail to take good care of themselves. It can be difficult overcoming the initial barriers to self-care. However, once you fully understand what and how important it is, you’ll find it much easier to stick to a self-care routine.
