Having some time for yourself will make you notice that this is not wasted time, it’s an investment to feel good emotionally, mentally and physically.

Why self-care is important?

Sometimes life becomes so chaotic that we become so busy and we tend to neglect ourselves. We tend to think also, that we are not allowed to take care of ourselves or if we take some time to relax or to sleep is being taken is if we are indulgent with ourselves or that is selfish and sometimes even frowned upon. But the important thing to realize is that if you do not take care of yourself, you will not be able to be as productive as you would like, or as patient as you normally are or simply put you are not in a place where you could enjoy your life.

Taking care of yourself helps you avoid feeling worn out.

It happens to me a lot that after a long time of stress or with too many occupations or worries I feel totally exhausted. And this is totally normal because stress causes you to feel tired, it may cause anxiety and in some cases high blood pressure. Of course, the cases where stress causes a major impact is when people don’t take care of themselves appropriately.

Self-care when you have had a lot of stress, or worries or just a lot of work is essential to maintain calm and react appropriately. Moreover, it can even help you to be more productive and not to be in bad shape or to have other habits that are not so positive for you.

Take the time to rest and relax, this helps you physically and mentally.

It helps you to be more productive and efficient.

When you are rested your mind is also relaxed, you can focus more and you are even more creative. Feeding well, resting, feeling relaxed helps you have more energy to do the things you should and even allow yourself to experience new things. Also, when you include a routine of self-care you also allow yourself to be more resistant to external situations. What does that mean? Well, regardless of the circumstances that arise, the problems and things that are out of your control you can keep calm, you will be more resistant to stress and have greater ability to respond to problems.

It helps you to have more balanced personal relationships

Personal relationships start with yourself. How you treat yourself establishes a baseline of how you allow others to treat you. You are the main responsible for your own care, to love yourself and to show other people that love and respect that you have for yourself.

Do you know that doing things you like helps you have better self-esteem? Yes, when you do the things you love then you feel good, you are able to recognize that you are good at what you do and that increases your confidence and love for yourself. When you feel good about yourself it is more likely that you can have healthy and lasting personal relationships.

Evaluate how you react when you feel stressed

It is important to realize how you react when you are tired, or you feel stressed or when you haven’t been paying attention to you or your body. This will make you recognize when it is necessary that you take some time to rest and take care of yourself.

Remember that many times we get carried away by the demands of our work, our family, friends and our own goals, and we do not realize that it is necessary to rest in order to continue attending all aspects of our life as we should.

Personally, it happens that when I’m already tired or I haven’t been sleeping well and I keep pushing myself to fulfill some goals and objectives that I have established, I tend to get cranky or in a bad mood, and not really in control of my emotions. Nowadays, it’s easier for me to realize when I need to take a break, to get some energy and to feel better.

In addition, I can also realize that I’m less patient, especially with my daughters who are the people I love the most, so it is better to take care of myself if I want to treat them as they deserve and not according to my mood.

I know that many mothers have it difficult because some of us do not have family support close and many of us also have to support our husbands when they are away from home travelling. These are the days that we have to be much more patient and compassionate with ourselves since the workload and responsibility rests solely with us.

To identify your skills and the mechanisms you use to handle difficult situations or when you already need a break, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

How do you typically attend to the demands of your daily life?

Can you identify when it is necessary to take a break or rest?

When you are stressed, you are in a difficult situation or have problems

How do you react? What mechanisms do you use to face these situations or the challenges in general?

You can use positive or negative coping strategies, then I give you some examples of them. Choose which ones you use the most.

Negative strategies

• Yelling
• Aggressive behaviour
• Binging
• Consuming alcoholic beverages in excess
• Smoking
• Biting your nails
• Consuming drugs
• Skipping meals
• Isolate yourself
• Engaging in dangerous activities

Self-care habits

Physical care

Emotional care

Spiritual care

Mental care

What do you think about these habits and practices? Are you ready to make a self-care routine?

Tell me about yourself, do you already have some self-care practices?