Many people talk about self-care but don’t actually practice the act within their daily lives.
During the last year of my graduate program, my fieldwork professor preached to the high heavens on the importance of self-care within the helping field. She warned us that therapists, counselors, and social workers experience the most burn out in the field because we are constantly giving of ourselves daily. Every week she would ask each student in class to name something that they did for themselves over the weekend. Many of us would say sleep, catch up on shows, watch a movie … you know things that don’t really apply to self-care. Our responses were more of a break from the routine of our hectic schedules.
Self-care is actively setting time out of your busy schedule to cater to you.
That means mind, body, and spirit.
Self-care goes far beyond getting eight hours of sleep. It’s in your thoughts, your actions, how you carry yourself, what you do for others, and your outlook on life.