Open up any of the socials and you will see messaging about self-care and how important it is.

Did you know that, according to Google Trends, the number of searches for “self-care” has more than doubled since 2015.

And I’m not sure about you but it feels like there is a lot of pressure to add self-care to our TO-DO list!

It’s true – it is important – but do you really know what self-care is?

Firstly, let’s clear up something up: Self-care is not synonymous with self-indulgence or being selfish. Yet, when I work with women – they are exactly the words they use to describe their feelings about self-care.

Self-care means taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy, you can be well, you can do your job, you can help and care for others, and you can do all the things you need to and want to accomplish in a day.

You might be interested to know that self-care is not just a new and trendy concept to do a dance on Tik Tok about. It has a strong evidence base on decades of research based in how to support the social determinants of health in our lived experiences as humans.

The World Health Organisation defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.”

According to this definition, self-care includes everything related to staying physically healthy — including hygiene, nutrition, and seeking medical care when needed. It’s all the steps we can take to manage stressors in life and take care of our own health and well-being.

When we use this definition, we expand what is included beyond bubble baths and yoga. Common examples of self-care include maintaining a regular sleeping routine, eating healthy, spending time in nature, doing a hobby you enjoy, and expressing gratitude. That can be something that’s relaxing or calming, or it can be something that is intellectual or spiritual or physical or practical or something you need to get done. Self-care will look different for everyone, but to count as self-care, the behaviour should promote health and happiness for you. Self-care is anything that you do for yourself that feels nourishing.

Something else to consider is that the International Self-Care Foundation also includes health literacy as a pillar of self-care, meaning that any steps you take toward better understanding health information you need to make appropriate decisions about your health and well-being counts as self-care, too. You know what that means??? Reading this blog is a form of self-care. BOOM!

This is why at self-care is about all the steps you take to tend to your physical and emotional health in the ways you are best able to do so.

Self-care is about supporting yourself, being kind to yourself and gentle.

It isn’t about creating shame or feeling like failures because the self-care action doesn’t seem grand enough, long enough, expensive enough, regular enough and the list goes on.

Self-care requires checking in with yourself and asking yourself how you’re doing and what your body’s asking for.

Some people use self-care to deal with difficult news stories, others just to maintain their happiness day to day. Self-care does not mean the same thing for everyone, and it isn’t a fixed list of things to do either. We all use different self-care practices, and your definition might change over time or depend on your stage of life.

Engaging in self-care regularly could help you put your best foot forward. When we are regularly taking care of ourselves, we are better able to react to the things that form our human experience, it helps us create and maintain wellbeing.

When self-care is regularly considered and included in our lives, the benefits are far reaching and help us develop healthy and flourishing relationships, reduced levels of stress, increased productivity, and higher levels of self-esteem and confidence. It also helps improved our immune systems.

So that’s all well and good I hear you say but how do I purposefully practice self-care? First things first. Take as big deep breath and dial down the high expectations you have of yourself. Then consider starting with one small self-care practice you can begin to bring into your weekly routine.

Try to avoid jumping in feet first to changing your whole routine or radically change your approach to self-care. Suddenly getting up every morning at 530am to hear the morning bird songs – may be a gorgeous way to connect with nature and set the intention for the day – but by Thursday, you may be left feeling exhausted, cranky and more than likely will give up and think you are a failure! Rather than nourishing, this example demonstrates depletion.

Instead, choose one practice each week to weave into your daily routine. Note any positive changes and add in more practices when you feel ready.

I’ve been reflecting on my own self-care routines. I’ve noticed that my sleep is not nourishing or rejuvenating me that way I’d like. I tend to crash on the lounge around 10pm put Netflix on and then struggle for hours to find my way to my bed!! So, I am going to gently pay attention to my sleep routine and head to bed at 1030pm for a couple of nights a week and notice the difference in how I feel.

Do you find self-care practices feel like a burden at the moment?

Got any thoughts on how you might change that feeling? Leave a comment below to let others know they aren’t alone – the more we share our stories the more we learn about ourselves and others.

You got this. One step a time.