Self-care Hacks

What is self-care? Self-care is defined as caring for your personal needs without professional help. However, that definition of self-care doesn't do it much justice so I'd like to take this opportunity to further expand on the definition of self-care!

Personally, I believe that self-care is so much more than that! My definition of self-care can be defined by the prevention of any issues related to the biopsychosocial model, which include, but are not limited to physical issues (biological aspect), psychological problems (psychological aspect), and social factors (social aspect).

Self-care and prevention go hand-in-hand! Reflect back on the last time that you caught a seasonal cold. Did you take any preventive measures to combat a full-blown cold or do you regularly increase your Vitamin C intake when you're more susceptible to getting sick? What about your psychological health? Do you meditate, attend therapy, practice yoga, or perform breathing exercises in order to help you relax and/or manage negative emotions so that you don't blow up and say or do something that you might regret later? How do you deal with social factors in your life? Whether it's a busy schedule, caring for loved ones, or balancing multiple responsibilities and/or roles in your life, it's important that you know your limits so that you could set boundaries. Overcommitting yourself could further result in both physical and psychological wear and tear on your body that could potentially become detrimental.

If you feel that the anxiety is just too real after reading that, then please do yourself a favor and give yourself some much needed self-care! Check out my post on Overcoming Anxiety for more information. To this day, I still have moments in my life where I feel like I am overcommitting myself to certain things. When that happens, I immediately begin to make changes in my life because if I don't stop, then my mind and body begin to suffer.

Self-care allows us to recharge and regroup so that we could overcome the difficult and not so enjoyable aspects of our lives. The self-care measures that I take to find a healthy balance in my life might look a little different than yours. However, what is important is that you spend your time doing something that makes a positive impact in your life and/or maybe do something that you are passionate about! Personally, I love working out, traveling, and spending time with my loved ones. For those of you that don't know me personally, fitness and nutrition is something that I am passionate about and it also helps me stay healthy both physically and psychologically. In addition, every few months I like to take little weekend getaways to the snow or the beach, which really help me completely re-charge and de-stress. However, aside from all of that I am very fortunate that at the end of each day I get to completely relax, unwind, and leave all my worries of the day at the front door because I get to come home to with my fiancé and my puppies.

I hope that on this Monday evening you truly take some time to reflect on your life. Maybe you need to set some boundaries, maybe you need to use some of that earned PTO or to take a much needed Mental Health Day, or maybe you realize that you might have to drop something that isn't worthwhile so that you could redirect that extra time and energy into something else in your life that might need more attention.

Stay healthy!

Via

#selfcare #viorela #healthandwellnessblogger #healthandwellnessblog #biopsychosocial #physicalandpsychologicalhealth #physicalhealth #psychologicalwellbeing #holistichealth #socialhealth #yogaandmeditation #howtolivehealthy #mindbodylife #healthhacks #selfcareandprevention #selfcareforprevention #recharge #destress #mentalhealthday