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What Does Self Care Mean To You?

We talk a lot about self-care and how important it is these days. If you want to improve your mental health and reduce stress, you need to take time for yourself and practice self-care. But what exactly does self-care mean? There are so many articles online about self-care with a list of things that you should be doing. But the truth is, everybody is different and self-care should be a personal thing. Somebody else’s idea of a relaxing activity may not be the same as yours and if you take the advice of others, you will not be able to find a self-care routine that works for you. What you should be doing instead is finding things that help you to relax and unwind. So, what does self-care mean for you? 

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Know Your Personality Type

The first step in creating a self-care routine is knowing your personality type. There are 9 different personality types and we all fit roughly into one of the categories. The self-care needs of each personality type are different, so it’s important that you know yours. You can use this test to gain insight about yourself and work out which kind of personality you have. If you are a Creative personality, for example, you need time on your own to recharge your batteries, but if you are an Adventurer, you need more social interaction. Telling an Adventurer that spending time alone is an important part of their self-care routine will not work for them. Make sure that you know your personality type and build your self-care routine around that. 

Avoid Things You Don’t Enjoy 

This seems obvious, but so many people fall into the trap of doing things because everybody else says that it’s good for self-care. For example, a lot of people practice yoga to unwind and relieve stress, and it works brilliantly for them. But if you don’t enjoy yoga and you would much rather spend half an hour reading or watching your favorite TV show, do that instead. Forcing yourself to do things because others say they are good for self-care will not make you feel better, it will only feel like a chore. 

Don’t Put Pressure On Yourself 

There is a lot of pressure out there to have a full self-care routine that involves meditation in the morning, preparing healthy meals from scratch every day, and exercising 5 times a week. But this isn’t realistic for a lot of people, especially when you have a busy lifestyle. If you are a busy mom, ‘me time’ looks very different and it’s tough to find time for yourself. It’s important that you don’t put pressure on yourself and if your self-care routine is just 10 minutes at the end of each day to read a book or listen to your favorite music, that’s absolutely fine. 

If you try to force yourself to take on somebody else’s self-care routine, you won’t see the benefit. It’s important that you think about what self-care means to you and find a routine that fits your lifestyle.

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