Emotional Self-Care

Self-Care applies to every aspect of our life. It isn’t one specific thing or activity; self-care is a concept. It’s a lifestyle. It’s how we take care of ourselves.  Self-care is a multifaceted practice. Not only do we have physical needs, but also social needs and emotional needs. Each aspect of health requires a unique approach. Identifying our needs in each category can help us decide what we need to do to take care of them.

Emotional self-care means taking care of our emotions and attending to our mental wellbeing. We do this by engaging in an activity or using a product that alleviates our emotional stress and fatigue. When we identify our specific needs, it can help us design an effective self-care plan.

We develop emotional needs based on both our past and present experiences.  While we may have some consistent baseline needs, our emotions also tend to ebb and flow at the moment. We are always capable of feeling two things at the same time. Acknowledging all of our feelings is the key to practicing good emotional self-care.

There are many components to maintaining optimum emotional and mental health. Sometimes we get our needs met by ourselves, and sometimes we rely on other people. We often thrive best when we have a strong sense of support, love, openness, compassion, encouragement, inspiration, and motivation.  However, we rarely feel all of these things at once. It’s important to regularly check-in on the inventory of our emotional needs to figure out what areas could use a little attention.  One way to take care of your mental health is to reflect on things that have helped in the past. When you were little, what kinds of things made you feel better? How did you get through an icky day? What helped you feel calm? There’s a strong chance that what has worked in the past will help you in the
present.

Think about your particular emotional needs and ask yourself what you think you need to do. We often hold the answers within us. Some common ways people practice emotional self-care are doing things like journaling, meditating, calling a friend, taking breaks, focusing on the positive, and reminding us of the things that bring us joy.  Do any of these resonate with you? Once you and something that works, take some small steps to practice these strategies. When you personalize your self-care to meet your specific emotional needs, you will likely experience a positive outcome.