Is There A Right Way To Self Care? Science Says Yes.

‘Self-care’ has recently become a buzzword. You may have seen it in an instagram caption under a photo of a book sitting on the ledge of a bubble bath or listened to your friend use it as their reasoning for a recent shopping spree. However, this term is more than just a trend and it’s underlying meaning of ritualistic self-healing has long since existed even if its validity is only newly established. While such posts are a great way of bringing the maintation of mental health to the mainstream, they might give people the idea that self-care is a luxury and something that should only be indulged following a productive and busy week. Truthfully, self-care is the daily fuel that humans need to live sustainably.

One would think that with the pandemic and the routinely necessitous quarantine periods, people would have more time to focus on self-betterment and restoration. Regardless of this extra time though, people are now more stressed than ever. There’s a harmful belief being spread that if one doesn’t spend every minute of this extra time chasing productivity that they will quickly fall behind the ‘more dedicated and disciplined’ masses. The thing about this unhealthy motive behind performance is that the results are short lived.

Burn-out is very real and can cause grave effects on those who try to ignore it. In order to nurture the overall health of our soul, we need to give back to our body the same way our body gives to us. Remember, it’s not about the destination but rather the journey and the journey is much harder to enjoy and appreciate when it’s spent continuously pushing oneself past a healthy threshold.

There are many misconceptions floating around the term self-care:

1. Self-care happens naturally. The thing about self-care is that it’s not a subconscious task. Nor is it biological for humans to partake in such activities in this modern society where taking a step back from responsibilities is often frowned upon. The thing about self-care is that it’s a practice that requires consistent efforts from you to schedule into your day, everyday.
2. Self-care is selfish. The goal of self-care is to spend time listening to your body regarding what is being neglected and pampering to those needs. Sometimes the cost of taking care of oneself is saying no to nonessential tasks. For these reasons self-care gets a bad rep for being inherently selfish. However, in the long run, self-care may actually be exactly what you need to feel more compassionate and encouraged to help others. When we don’t take time to aid ourselves, the amount of support we can then provide to others is limited from our lack of emotional stamina.
3. There’s no time for self-care. Life is busy, and it often feels like there’s no time to breathe, let alone spend an evening doing anything that doesn’t consist of checking off boxes in our planner. Self-care doesn’t have to be time-consuming on assiduous days. A ten minute addition to your day won’t send you miles behind your other work and in fact will likely prevent a mental crash so you can work more restfully and efficiently. Providing yourself with self-care is an investment in your future and a boundary that most of us struggle to initiate but are infinitely thankful for once we do.

Now that we’ve gone over what self-care isn’t, let’s clarify what it is. Self-care is a conscious decision made routinely to carve out time meant to combat stressors in life (as opposed to the often chosen methods to avoid problems with momentary distractions) in the strategic attempt to gain long-term clarity and function.

Self-care can take form in many activities. There’s a multitude of quizzes and articles online about the kind of leisure task that would suit you best based on your personality and the different ways you respond to stress.

To take care of your physical health, pay attention to your daily dose of exercise, nutrition, sleep and environment. For example, partaking in exercise is not only a great way to get out any pent up frustration that stress may have induced but also boosts positive brain chemistry. Hiking or biking outside will improve physical as well as mental health and participating in group sports can connect you with people outside your normal support system and stimulate your brain in ways you haven’t been exposed to yet. Moreover, during extremely stressful times, sleep is often pushed to the back burner which is a terrible mistake. Long and deep sleep is the rest our bodies need to repair and revitalize itself. This quality sleep can be achieved by refraining from caffeine, sugar and technology during the evening and taking some time to calm down after an eventful day either through journaling or meditation or even something as simple as a hot shower where the stress of the day is left behind and compartmentalized from your ‘me-time’. Lastly, your environment plays a huge effect on stress levels. It’s important now more than ever to take opportunities to spend time in nature. Either by taking a walk (following social distancing regulations) or even just opening a window or sitting out on a balcony to get some fresh air will spark positive activity in the brain and calm down mental distress.

Emotional health is just as important to sustain and the factors to consider consist of mindfulness, creativity and connection. Emotional health is based on the energy you surround yourself with and the type of thoughts that you allow to take space in your mind. This space is sacred and needs to be routinely regulated. Mindfulness can enhance focus when thoughts are scattered and create insight to your priorities to further self-discovery. Creativity is also often neglected, especially for people in an academic setting. Feeding the creative part of your brain will explore emotions that may be repressed and too muddled to acknowledge otherwise, and expressing yourself in a way that is separate from your stressors through this creative output will result in inner peace and rejuvenation. If you’re not sure what hobby to engage in or are too exhausted in a day to start a new side-project, this need for creativity can be fulfilled by listening to music while completing household chores or looking at an art magazine you may have laying around in the house. Finally, relationships are fundamental for a balanced life. Many people have learned the benefit of having support circles to encourage and motivate them but the social connections humans need on a daily basis go further than that. Regularly contacting friends to discuss non-stressor related topics and using that time spent to build the friendship past surface-level is essential.

All in all, self-care sharpens emotional and physical health through the preservation of balance and restoration of energy resources in an increasingly overstimulating life. Self-care, different from self-indulgence, is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle that dismisses the guilt surrounding one’s need of breaks. Ultimately, continuously checking in with oneself builds self-awareness that is needed to effectively address the body’s demands to positively acclimate to stressors. Rewiring your brain to be so attuned to your needs is not an easy task, and so it takes lots of frequent practice. Don’t be alarmed if the moments you’ve set aside for self-care don’t go according to plan as it’s not perfect execution of that act but rather setting those boundaries and intentions that will bring you closer to achieving repletion.

We hope that this post provided you insight into self-care! Stay tuned for more blog posts from OYMS! Be sure to check out our website, and follow us on Instagram at our handle @ontarioyouthmedsociety.

About the writer: Raheleh Najafi is an incoming senior at Newmarket High School. She is starting her own path to one day becoming an ophthalmologist and as a result finds herself becoming more and more involved in extracurriculars fixating around medicine. Raheleh especially finds importance in clubs that offer transparency and accessibility to promote equal opportunity in the medical field and the process to post-secondary pathways. She continues to advocate for this goal as a member of PuMP (prospective medical professionals). In her free time, Raheleh enjoys writing, rollerblading, and journaling. To keep up with Raheleh, follow her on her LinkedIn!