On Self-Care

Though I am rather skeptical with the whole astrology thing, I find one thing quite resonate with me. This meme right here, describes me.

I love self-care. But before I understand the true meaning of self-care, I used to think that self-care is about treating myself something. Whenever I have bad days, I would go somewhere and treat myself a nice meal, nice shoes, a travel here and there. When done in the right amount, it's fine but when it's excessive, it's not. With that being the standard of self-care, there were repercussions.

So, I ventured on a journey learning about the actual self-care. It took me a while to learn that self-care is continous work. It's not just one time visit to a spa or to a cafe whenever I have bad mood. It's about making improvements in my life; slow and steady. Yes, it's work but it's worth it.

Today is the day I am reflecting to it again. Lately, I am back to the ignorant younger version of me who thinks self care is going outside the house and visit a cafe or having a spa day. Then, I would come home and neglect other important aspect in my life such as sleep and nutrition. No wonder I feel like crap lately.

The current environment I am living is already chaotic and I was making it worse by not caring about my own self-care. I failed to set boundaries with the people there that resulted in my poor quality of life.

Today, I was also reminded by an advice from a dear friend Z, she told me this " First thing say, "Brain, it's okay. Stop freaking out. I'll take better care of you. We'll take the meds properly and we'll get a little extra sleep if you want it.And I'll make sure you're getting more protein and less sugar. It will be okay."

That advice is something that I use as a baseline to know if I am doing well in life. If I start consuming more sugar, eating too little protein, having less sleep, not taking my meds, something is really wrong.

While reading Dune, I realized that lately, life has been more chaotic. I have no form of self-care, nonexistent schedule and I let the environment defines me. This prompt me to start an actual self-care again. The first step is by getting a proper sleep schedule.

How do you define self-care?

Let me know in the comment section!