Self-Care: The Good, The Bad, and The Essential

Self-care is often confused with selfishness and narcissism, but in reality, it encompasses daily habits that nurture the mind, body, and spirit. However, even in this beneficial practice, there are pitfalls. Let’s explore how to best take care of your health and what mistakes to avoid.

Beneficial: Accepting Help

Sometimes, taking care of yourself means recognizing that you can’t do everything alone. It’s impossible to be perfect at everything! A good example of self-care, especially for young mothers, is asking your mother-in-law to babysit. She might do things differently than you’d like, such as feeding the child different foods or being more lenient, but it’s crucial to have some time for yourself.

Once you accept help, don’t forget to show your gratitude. A small bonus of accepting help is that your relationship with the person will improve, as they will feel a deeper connection with you for being able to do something truly pleasant for you.

Harmful: Trying to Impress People by Overworking

When you try to please everyone, you’re definitely not taking care of yourself. Women often do this unconsciously, sacrificing their own health and happiness. Remember Angelina Jolie’s interview? Sometimes, family women put themselves last until their health starts to suffer. Not only do you suffer for the convenience of others, but it also allows those around you to become lazy and take you for granted.

Beneficial: Resting and Having Fun

Getting seven to eight hours of sleep, doing daily exercises or meditating, and taking at least a 30-minute walk are essential. Psychologists recommend creating relaxation rituals to avoid extreme situations.

I used to think, ‘The New Year holidays are coming, and that’s when I’ll catch up on sleep!’ This is the wrong approach. You need to take breaks during the week to refresh your mind and body.

Harmful: Binge-Watching TV Shows Late at Night

Imagine coming home after a long, hard day at work. If you haven’t taken a break to breathe or go for a walk at lunch, you’re completely exhausted, and life seems like hell. All you want to do is stare at a season of American Horror Story and only get off the couch when you’re too sleepy to stay awake.

Do you think this is how you relax? Think again. You might oversleep or wake up on time but still not have a productive morning, wasting time on short YouTube videos. Instead, read a book in the bath in the evening, then go to bed on time to get enough rest.

Beneficial: Dressing to Feel Great

Dress to feel good. Wear what you truly love to work. A good image and hairstyle are signs of successful people, as society perceives it. Spend a little more time looking vibrant to show how much you value yourself and how much the world should value you. A significant component of self-care is showing that you consider yourself worthy of the best.

Harmful: Spending All Your Money on Clothes and Makeup

There’s a difference between finding the perfect dress that makes you feel like a goddess and spending money on things you don’t need, increasing your credit card debt. There’s nothing wrong with buying truly expensive products, but if the purchase is unplanned and doesn’t fit your budget, you should definitely avoid it.

Another NYX sale? Close the newsletter; you have enough matte lipsticks. Remember, debt is the most common cause of stress, and some psychologists even compare shopaholism to addictions like alcoholism or sex addiction.

Beneficial: Treating Yourself and Friends to Snacks

Are you aware of the food you give your body? Do you eat enough vegetables and fruits? Then you can treat yourself to something spicy, especially if it’s part of a social event. What I mean is: if you’re going to the movies, enjoy the popcorn!

Harmful: Mindless Snacking

Occasional snacks won’t ruin your health, but a sugar obsession can. Uncontrolled consumption of chocolate leads to obesity, weakened immunity, and addiction. Eating a box of eclairs and having digestive problems is not the best choice. Healthy foods can also be delicious if you take the time to prepare them.

Beneficial: Scheduling Time for Workouts

The more you move, the better. Going outside, breathing in the movement, and sweating are important parts of a healthy lifestyle. Choose running, cycling, or swimming to release ‘feel-good’ neurochemicals. It also helps to distract yourself, change the environment, and clear your mind. Isn’t this better than spending the evening in front of the TV?

Harmful: Overworking to Achieve the Perfect Body

Millennials often romanticize the ‘good life’: marathon running, raw food diets, and various vitamin juices. Some go further—biohacking the body, like Sergey Fage. But physical exercise is beneficial in moderation. Jumping from one diet to another? Spending three hours a day in the gym to have a perfect butt? Going to the gym with the sole purpose of burning off cake calories? Don’t do it.

Beneficial: Making Time to Support a Friend

Humans are deeply social beings. Everyone sometimes wants evenings alone—this is normal, but it can’t last forever. It’s important to create positive and mutual relationships to feel like a whole person. At some point, it becomes difficult to balance family, work, and household chores. It may seem like you have no time for friends. Don’t fall for this! Communicating with people who are also focused on their development will stimulate your life.

Harmful: Spending All Your Time on Friends

Spending time with friends and having fun is important, but if you find yourself constantly going out, it doesn’t fit into your budget, and you haven’t started cleaning at home for two weeks, think about it: maybe you’re avoiding something intentionally? People often drown themselves in alcohol when they have problems, but in the morning, they have another problem—hangover. The same goes for debts, both temporal and financial.

Beneficial: Setting Boundaries

The word ‘no’ is a key skill of a successful person. Take care of yourself by setting emotional boundaries that protect you and your well-being. Don’t immerse yourself in an ocean of other people’s problems. If your overly dramatic friend tells you about another Tinder date, or your nervous mother is overprotective when you’re far from 15, you need to be tough to establish healthy boundaries.

Harmful: Distancing Yourself from Good People and Isolating Yourself

While setting boundaries, there’s a risk of going too far. You need to learn to face problems in reality. Invest in positive relationships. Maybe you need to give more time to your partner, seek support from a loved one or a doctor. Remember, it’s right to care for people you love, but running away from them to another continent is a problem.