A little over a year ago, self-care was not on my radar. I was tackling life head-first, exploring full-time career options, enjoying a newer relationship, and experiencing post-college life. It was an interesting phase for me; I had just finished an internship and didn’t have any specific goals for my next step. Overall I was enjoying the freedom, but my inner overachiever was screaming for more.
Throughout the summer, I spent countless hours applying for jobs, prepping for interviews, investing time in friendships and my relationship, and working nearly full-time hours every week at my current job. Also, can’t forget the regular day-to-day errands and chores that come with living on your own!
This jam-packed time of my life didn’t include a single ounce of true self-care.
Sure, I’d meditate here and there. Maybe go to the gym a couple of times a month or take a day to rest and watch Netflix, but self-care was never really a top priority in my life.
At the end of that summer, I had accomplished nearly all my goals: I landed the ideal full-time job in my major, a loving relationship with my boyfriend, wonderful friends, and overall a great life.
Oh yeah, I was also dealing with crippling anxiety and nearly daily panic attacks.
I had dealt with mild cases of anxiety in the past throughout college, but nothing came even close to what I was experiencing during this important transition in my life. These issues sparked an inner hunger to research every aspect of mental health, anxiety, and most importantly, self-care.
Through my research and several sessions with a wonderful counselor, I discovered that my brain literally didn’t know how to slow down. My brain was wired to constantly thinking about what’s next, analyzing every part of my life to try to improve and move forward. Learning this pushed me to start putting self-care at a top priority in my life, which in turn has become something I am incredibly passionate about.
There are so many ways self-care can benefit your life when it’s placed as a top priority. Many of these benefits are from personal experience. I hope you can find similar success when you practice self-care regularly.
Stress Relief
Irregular amounts of stress and worry can have numerous negative effects on both our mental and physical health. Insomnia, weight gain, and overall unhappiness are common effects of too much stress. A huge part of self-care is living in the moment. I recently discovered a powerful quote that definitely resonates with this topic:
“If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.” – Lao Tzu
Taking even simply 5 to 10 minutes of your day to breathe deeply, meditate, or simply be, can have a powerful effect on lowering your stress levels and improving your life.
Emotional Happiness
Self-care is an act of self-love. The more you love yourself, the happier you’ll feel. This is easier said than done, I know. However, through time and practice you’ll start finding yourself much lighter, positive, and happier with yourself and your life.
Physically Healthier
Many forget that self-care is as simple as remembering to drink water, or going for a walk once a day. Self-care is literally taking care of yourself – both mentally and physically. Eating nourishing foods and moving a little more each day can do wonders on for your body.
Increased Productivity
Do you have a hard time focusing on tasks or get easily distracted? Paying attention to your body and nourishing it with self-love and care will increase your concentration and overall productivity. I can definitely feel a significant difference in my focus levels when I’m taking care of myself compared to when I’m leaning back into old lazy habits. It makes sense that mental exercises like meditation can help improve productivity, but even physical self-care can have a larger impact on your motivation and focus than you might think.
Higher Quality of Life
Imagine dedicating time each day to improving and loving every part of yourself. I can almost guarantee that you’ll find your life naturally improving when you make self-care a habit. You’ll become more aware of what’s bringing you joy, causing negativity, and what you need to do to take control and live the life you want.
New to the self-care journey and unsure where to start? You can download and use my simple guide to daily self-care, where I’ve provided quick and easy steps you can use to begin your journey to an improved life with self-care. Simply click the button below to get started!
Can’t wait for you to start this amazing adventure!
—
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter!
Thank you for sharing this post in the Writing Revolters group, Sara! I’m glad you did because this was something I needed to read. I have an anxiety disorder so self-care is much more important for me than I thought it was. I’m not placing as much importance on it as I should be and I’m totally suffering because of it. I’m glad you put it in my mind to focus more on self-care while I’m bringing my freelance writing business up from the ground floor. Thank you again for sharing this post with the world, Sara. I appreciate it!
I’m glad it’s helped you Lizzie! I’m sure that even just 10 minutes of self care a day will not only benefit you, but your new business as well! Good luck building your freelance business!
I know it’ll help me in more ways than I can see at the moment! I’ve taken days off because of my mental illness before and I’ve noticed the positive changes from taking time away from my laptop within hours of taking that day off. If I can give myself a block of time to be used on non-business related tasks, I know I can lower my anxiety about certain tasks. Thank you again for the kick in the butt I needed to get that plan started!