Self-Care: Why It’s More Than Taking Breaks and Bubble Baths
What do you think of when you hear the term “self-care”? You might think of face-masks, scented candles, and nights spent at home instead of making plans with friends. While those things can be soothing, true self-care is actually a really important part of our psychological health, and overall wellness. Real self-care isn’t just about indulgence; it’s about intention. It’s about recognizing your needs, setting healthy boundaries, and taking actions that support your emotional, physical, and mental well-being in a sustainable way.
What Is Self-Care, Really?
From a psychological perspective, self-care can be any activity or practice that we engage in deliberately to maintain or improve our health and well-being. It’s also a form of self-regulation, meaning that it helps us manage stress, recover from challenges, and build our resilience. In order for self-care to be truly effective, it needs to be a proactive practice, not just something we do when we’re already feeling burnt out.
In other words, self-care isn’t a reward for being productive. It’s a necessary practice for functioning well in our personal, professional, and relational lives.
How Does Self-Care Help Us?
Research shows that regular self-care practices improve mood, reduce anxiety, and prevent burnout. Self-care activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our body’s way of counteracting stress responses.
From a psychological perspective, when we neglect our needs, we’re more likely to experience emotional exhaustion, depression, and anxiety, and then we’re more likely to give in to unhealthy coping methods. However, when we care for ourselves ahead of stress and exhaustion, we strengthen our sense of self-efficacy and we start to believe that we have the power to influence our own well-being.
Why Does Self-Care Feel Hard?
Many of us struggle to prioritize self-care, not because we don’t value it, but often because other priorities get in the way. Sometimes, it’s easier to put our responsibilities or priorities first because of our underlying beliefs about self-care. Here are some common barriers prioritizing self-care:
Perfectionism: “I can rest once everything is done.”
Guilt: “Taking time for myself feels selfish.”
Believing self-worth comes from productivity: “If I’m not achieving, I’m not enough.”
Avoiding Emotions: “If I slow down, I’ll have to face what I’m feeling.”
Do any of those sound familiar? Understanding these barriers is the first step to overcoming them. Self-care requires self-compassion - acknowledging where your limits are without judgment, and recognizing that you are worthy of the same care you offer to others.
What Does Self-Care Mean, Practically?
There are lots of ways to practice self-care. Taking care of yourself means paying attention to the facets that make us who we are. Here are some examples of what self-care can look like in the following categories:
Physical self-care: Sleep, nutrition, movement, medical care, and rest.
Emotional self-care: Allowing space for feelings, therapy, journaling, creative expression.
Social self-care: Spending time with supportive people, setting boundaries, nurturing relationships.
Mental self-care: Learning, reading, mindfulness, and challenging unhelpful thought patterns.
Spiritual self-care: Connecting with faith, purpose, nature, or a sense of meaning.
Remember that true balance comes from integrating these areas, not just focusing on one while neglecting the rest.
Taking Care of YOU
Despite how it seems, self-care is not self-indulgent—it’s self-respectful. By tending to your needs, you prevent burnout, strengthen emotional regulation, and model healthy behaviors for those around you.
You don’t need to overhaul your life to practice self-care. Start small.
Check in with yourself daily. Ask yourself: “What do I need right now?”
Schedule rest the way you schedule meetings.
Practice saying “no” without overexplaining. No can be a full sentence.
Participate in activities that align with your values, not just your to-do list.
Remember, consistency matters more than perfection. Self-care is less about grand gestures and more about small, repeated acts of kindness toward yourself.
Check out these other resources on self-care:
https://cmha.ca/news/self-care-simplified-why-its-essential-and-how-to-make-it-happen/
https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/health/what-is-self-care
Seeking professional support with a therapist or counsellor, whether in person or virtually, is a great place to start. We are here for you! Get Connected
About The Author:
Cassia Tayler, Registered Provisional Psychologist
Cassia enjoys the great outdoors, creativity, the fine arts, music, and working with teens, individuals and couples in identifying barriers to wellness and creating lasting positive change.
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