Self-Care: Maybe it’s More than Face Mask’s and Bubble Baths

Self-Care: Maybe it's More Than Bubble Baths and Face Masks? 

Self-care has become a widely known term by most of society. But it's largely perceived as a bubble bath after a long day, or a face mask before bed. Or better yet, "treatin' yo-self" to that 7$ starbucks coffee. These are all really nice treat's once in a while, nice pick-me-up idea's. 

However,  there's more to self-care. Those "pick-me-up" idea's are distractions from the root issue. 

Once the bubble bath water turns cold, the face mask dries, or the coffee is finished, it's back to the discomfort you were self-soothing with the quick-fix pick-me-ups. 

From my experience, sometimes self-care is more about making small, consistent decisions to create a reality that involves, less need for those quick "pick-me-ups"or distractions. The thing is, these decisions may not always be "fun" to stand behind.  However, the discipline to stand behind the necessary but uncomfortable decisions, often leads to overall balance in one's life. 

Often times, self-care involves sitting with those uncomfortable emotions, in order to be able to  understanding what was causing them. This requires a lot of non-judgemental reflection, or mindfulness of what is going on within the present moment. As well as acceptance, of the things you can't control. 

  What is happening in you life right now that could be correlated to current emotional state? 

Here is a little trick to practice self-care quickly, consistently and effectively! 

1. Can you change, or fix what is causing you distress/discomfort/stress without negatively affecting yourself? 

2. If you can't fix it, can you change or adapt a new perspective on the situation? How you choose to think about things is directly in-control of how you feel about them. 

3. Accept if for what it is. You don't have to like it, you don't have to condone it. Acceptance is not giving that situation, person, place or thing the ability to control your emotions, thoughts or behaviours. 

4. Stay in the exact same spot as you are, by doing nothing. 

"Self-Care is what people do for themselves to establish and maintain health, and to prevent and deal with illness. It is a broad concept encompassing hygiene (general and personal), nutrition (type and quality of food eaten), lifestyle (sporting activities, leisure etc), environmental factors (living conditions, social habits, etc.) socio-economic factors (income level, cultural beliefs, etc.) and self-medication.’ - W.H.O, 1998. 

Make the decisions necessary to create the balance you need within your life, so that you feel less of need a need for that quick-fix or distraction. Treat yo-self to some compassionate self-care. 

Take care of you! 

By: Madison Wood