How to Care for Yourself: Physically, Mentally & Emotionally

For the longest time, I believed self-care was all about caring for my anxious mind. It wasn’t until my body shut down due to burnout that I understand how caring for myself meant more than just meditation sessions. The truth is, to care for ourselves, our approach to self-care must be physical, mental, and emotional. Otherwise, all we’re doing is singing some affirmations and splurging on skincare.

Here’s how to care for yourself, physically, mentally, and emotionally so you, too, can enjoy the benefits of looking at self-care more holistically.

Your Body Is Your Temple

Making sure your body is well-nourished and happy is the most fundamental aspect of self-care. To practice good physical self-care, you must focus on proper nutrition, getting enough rest time, and the right amount of exercise. Consider those your basics.

There’s more that you can do to nourish your body. Long baths, physiotherapy, massages, breathing exercises, are all part of your physical self-care routines. Then you also have the tedious part of self-care, aka visiting your doctor every year, following up with routine tests, and so on.

How to Practice Physical Self-Care

To help you get started, you can save this into your list of self-care practices that help nourish your body from the inside and outside.

• Regular medical care
• Follow a healthy diet
• Get enough sleep
• Take vacations and time off
• Turn off your cellphone
• Schedule “me time”
• Be sexual
• Get massages, acupuncture, and bubble baths

Your Mind Is Your Sanctuary

Moving on, mental self-care is the one most of us are aware of and hopefully engaging with. Listen, our mind is a scary place that can go from excited and happy to depressed and unresponsive in the blink of a second. Not to mention, our minds control, well, everything.

Mental health care involves a lot of work, but it’s the most necessary kind of work. Take the time to be constantly aware of your thoughts, analyze the why’s, what’s, and what if’s, they all mean something. Then, make it your priority to set good mental health habits.

How to Practice Mindful Self-Care

While you don’t have to analyze every thought you have, the idea is to become more mindful of how our mind functions and wonders. Think of these practices to nurture your mind.

• Journal
• Engage in self-reflection
• Use affirmations
• Practice gratitude
• Focus on the present
• Go to therapy
• Try aromatherapy
• Practice self-awareness

Your Soul Is Your Spirit

Emotional self-care can be tricky. There’s no pathway to follow. Unfortunately, we don’t count on diets or special foods to treat our emotions. How do we label our feelings to separate the good from the bad? See? Complicated. Caring for your emotional well-being is a tricky subject, but it’s one-hundred percent achievable.

There are countless ways to practice emotional self-care. The most important thing is to recognize the validity of your emotional state, regardless of what that looks like. When you accept how you’re feeling right now, not only are you engaging in mental self-care, but you’re shielding yourself from new emotions.

How to Practice Emotional Self-Care

Of course, everything about emotional self-care is easier said than done. After all, are we indeed in sync with our emotions? Incorporating these actions can help us focus on our emotions and be more aware of how they affect our lives.

• Flirt
• Practice self-love
• Allow yourself to laugh and cry
• Find a passionate hobby
• Buy yourself something special
• Engage in social activism
• Practice kindness
• Forgive others

A Word from GR8NESS

As you drive through this self-care journey, you’ll encounter many roadblocks. Some people may say self-care is selfish, and while they may be wrong, sometimes our self-care becomes selfish without us noticing. Don’t be too harsh on yourself. Show yourself kindness and love. Eventually, you’ll be able to master the art of self-care, including physically, mentally, and emotionally.