What is self-care?
Self-care is considered to be a set of practices and skills that establish, maintain or safeguard positive attitudes that promote healthy coping mechanisms and personal growth. Self-care techniques are individual activities that help to decompress after the stress of work, school, and other responsibilities. Self-care can be anything! It could look like exercising, going out with friends, watching a movie you've been looking forward to, spending time with a loved one, cooking a meal, going for a walk, practicing an instrument; self-care is about finding personal time to relax and recover to prepare yourself for tomorrow. What is important about self-care is consistency. Always try to find time for yourself to engage in practices that bring you peace.
Why is it important?
Engaging in activities that are not only emotionally regenerative but fulfilling can significantly help to reduce feelings of exhaustion, negativity, and cynicism towards jobs or school; these feelings can also be known as burnout. Low mental health and mental illness can negatively impact our moods and thus impact our abilities to function.
How can we make time for self-care?
Being a graduate student means having a packed schedule that incorporates classes, schoolwork, and sometimes part-time/full-time jobs on top of all that. When thinking about self-care strategies and activities, it's best to start small. Consider simple changes you can make that will help your mental and physical health, such as getting a good night’s rest and striving for a nutritious and healthy diet. Self-care doesn't have to look like a leisure activity and could be something product that you enjoy, like making dinner and listening to the radio. You are taking care of yourself by doing something you enjoy and creating a nutritious food option for yourself. Start small and you can work on creating a self-care routine around your busy schedule. Note that creating healthy boundaries for yourself is also a form of self-care, especially around people or events that you no longer enjoy or hurt your mental health more than they help.
Below are some examples of self-care, including a video by headspace to help you practice self-care.
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