How To Get Started With Self-care

“Self-care” has become a modern buzzword. It’s now used in so many different contexts that its true meaning can seem unclear.

However, self-care is a highly individual concept and can vary significantly from person to person. If you’re looking for inspiration on how to get started with self-care, read on. We’ll share a brief overview of physical and mental self-care, plus examples of each and how to get support in figuring out which self care tips work best for you.

What is self-care and why does it matter?

As one academic paper on the topic puts it, self-care is “The ability to care for oneself through awareness, self-control, and self-reliance to achieve, maintain, or promote optimal health and well-being”. We all have basic health needs that must be fulfilled in order to stay alive, such as eating food, drinking water, and having shelter from the elements. Self-care, however, typically refers more to the practices that promote physical and emotional health and well-being over the short- and long-term—beyond just survival. It’s a preventative set of practices that’s considered by many to be an important component of health and happiness.

Practicing self-care is important because it can help a person enjoy an improved quality of life both now and in the future. It can also:

• Results in a lower likelihood of developing physical and/or mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression
• Increase your resilience when facing difficult situations
• Improve energy levels and performance at work or school
• Boost self-esteem
• Help improve relationships 

What does self-care look like?

Getting started with self-care can seem intimidating if you’re new to it. It’s also worth noting that self-care is a personal process that can look different for everyone, so finding the routine that works best for you can take some reflection and experimenting. To help you get started, you might consider the seven pillars of self-care outlined by the International Self-Care Foundation. These are:

1. Knowledge and health literacy: your ability to obtain and understand the information you need to make informed, positive decisions about your own health
2. Mental well-being, self-awareness, and agency: your level of overall mental health as well as your ability to take action when you recognize that you’re facing any kind of health challenge such as high blood pressure or a mental illness
3. Physical activity: the quality and frequency of your exercise routine
4. Healthy eating: whether you’re able to regularly consume the nutritious food that your body needs for healthy functioning
5. Risk avoidance or mitigation: your ability to avoid or decrease the frequency/severity of risky behaviors such as smoking and excessive alcohol consumption
6. Good hygiene: your knowledge of and engagement in basic hygiene practices such as washing hands, bathing regularly, rinsing raw food, etc. 
7. Rational and responsible use of products, services, diagnostics, and medicines: whether you’re aware of and willing to properly use tools to monitor and/or improve your health

Again, while these categories can provide a starting point if you’re looking to build a self-care practice, the specifics of your routine may vary depending on your unique needs and health status. To help you get started, check out some of the ideas for physical and mental self-care below.

Ideas for physical self-care

Physical self-care means taking care of your body. Note that self-care practices may evolve over the course of a person’s life and that they usually vary somewhat from individual to individual. The self-care routine of a twenty-year-old will likely be different than that of a sixty-year-old, for instance, and someone with a physical illness or disability may have different physical self-care needs than a non-disabled person. That said, common practices in general include exercising regularly, eating nutritious foods, and getting enough sleep. Others may include staying hydrated, stretching, spending time outdoors, taking required medications as directed, and visiting the doctor for regular health check-ups.

Ideas for mental self-care

Mental self-care means taking care of your mind and emotions. Not only can this type of care help you manage and/or prevent mental illness, but it can also improve your quality of life. Mental self-care practices can include learning to manage stress, practicing meditation, journaling, taking enough time to yourself, getting enough social interaction, using positive coping mechanisms for emotional control, seeing a therapist, using social media mindfully, practicing self-compassion, practicing gratitude, and setting healthy boundaries. These practices can be helpful in supporting your mental health as well as your emotional health.

How to build a self-care routine over time

Another way to approach the creation of a self-care routine is to distinguish between actions you take for the short term versus the long term. This can be an especially helpful framework if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of developing an entire, holistic self-care plan for yourself—because you can start with short-term actions and go from there. In fact, you can start with a single action that you can do right now or later today, and you can build on this practice over time. Short-term self-care actions that you could engage in right away include things like:

• Get a good night’s sleep
• Cook a healthy meal
• Make an appointment with a therapist
• Visit the doctor for a check-up
• Meditate for 15 minutes
• Connect with a friend
• Spend time doing a hobby you have missed
• Do one thing that makes you smile or feel joyful

Over time, you might find that practicing self-care in one area of your life can give you the momentum to do it in others as well. Once you’ve started to create a routine with actions like those listed above, you can start thinking about longer-term self-care strategies, such as:

• Find a long-term solution to insomnia or other sleep issues
• Establish a pattern of healthy eating habits
• Get treatment for anxiety, depression, or another mental health condition(s) you may be experiencing
• Find a type of exercise you enjoy and can do regularly
• Improve medical problems like high blood pressure or cholesterol
• Build a repertoire of positive coping skills
• Develop a habit of mindfulness
• Commit to regularly spending time with family and/or friends
• Develop clear boundaries between home and work

How a therapist can help

It can be helpful to have guidance as you develop a self-care routine that works for you. A therapist can help you craft a set of these practices to help you feel better day to day and promote better health over time. In particular, they can assist you in learning how to manage stress and emotional control, and they can offer treatment options and strategies for coping with any symptoms of a mental health condition that you may be experiencing. If you need support in taking care of yourself within your relationships, such as by learning to set boundaries or communicate your needs, they can support you in this as well.

If you’re looking to invest in mental self-care by meeting with a therapist, you can typically choose whether you’d like to connect with someone in person or online. For those who have trouble locating a provider in their area or are too busy to commute regularly to appointments, online therapy can represent a more accessible, convenient option. With a virtual therapy platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with a licensed therapist who you can meet with via phone, video call, and/or online chat from the comfort of home or anywhere you have an internet connection. Since research suggests that online therapy is “no less efficacious” than in-person therapy in most cases, you can typically choose the format that you feel works best for you.