In such stressful times talking about self care and self love is important. Send Care is having its moment right now. When so many of us are working two (or three) jobs to make ends meet or support our passions, trying to get through the next work meeting, and trying to find time to spend with friends and family, we need a little time to care for ourselves. Self-care is important to feeling renewed, and it’s truthfully what’s been getting me through my daily stress and anxiety. Come home from work, put on a face mask, and read in bed? Now that’s the life.
To define self-care, it’s basically the act of taking care of yourself physically and mentally. It’s a way to make sure you’re getting the time you need to feel at peace, whether it’s spending the night in painting and drawing instead of going out with friends or going to bed early instead of watching one more episode on Netflix (which we all know is more like three hours because you also don’t want to get off Instagram). It’s the self-awareness that you need time for yourself to grow or develop in any way. Yes, this can be facial massage or lighting your favourite candle but because you know it will make you feel relaxed tomorrow morning.
Self-love, on the other hand, is about cultivating gratitude and acceptance toward yourself, physically and emotionally. Practicing self-love can look like talking to yourself positively, throwing away your scale, or letting go of the comparison mindset (easier said than done!). Self-love means loving yourself unapologetically, whereas self-care is about taking the time to feel good in your skin.
While these two are different, they’re both necessary to a healthy, fulfilled lifestyle. Self-care allows you to maintain a healthy relationship with yourself rather than beating yourself up over the little things. We all know how uncomfortable it feels when we’ve worked non-stop and had no time with ourselves other than showering and hopping into bed. Practicing self-care helps you refocus your brain, just as meditation would.
