ayah – Page 3 – EDELSON ENG1121 O450

The most important thing I learned in my Unit 2 research was ways to really deeply take care of myself and make it to a habit. I learned the importance of self care too and how it connects to self love. As I researched, I learned how data and tips made a big distribution to my paper and how I can write it out. I believe that what I wrote can be beneficial towards city tech freshman, young children, teens, and adults overall.

I believe the practice of self care targets all ages, because it is a necessity to do so. Self care has no age so I do believe that my paper is for all audiences that may be struggling to love and take care of themselves.

The best way I can reach my target audience with my paper would be either through an inspirational poem or a comic strip. I want others to be influenced by it to the point where they can do it. I also want others to actually enjoy taking in the importance of self care and grasping onto the tips and information, rather than being bored reading it.

I think the way I formatted my essay was good. I do feel that I could’ve explained the points I’ve made a little better and provide some more information. I do know for the next piece, I will provide more information and connect my sentences a little better.

Understanding the Importance of Practicing Self Care

Ayah Toom

Self love is self care. Its purpose is to bring the importance for the well being of an individual to love themselves as it allows them to take care of themselves mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The term itself has been stamped in the year 1950s, and has been practiced since then. Self care is reinstated in many ideas of what people find self care to be. Self maintenance is more than its little physical acts, but it’s taking care of yourself mentally as well. Due to the global pandemic outbreak that occurred in 2020, a lot of people have connected with the practice of self care. The act of it was deeply encouraged during the time of quarantine since it has had an impact on many people. The pandemic has caused many people to feel isolated, empty, and overall, have a low self-esteem. Self care allows for individuals struggling mentally, physically, and emotionally to deeply work on themselves by treating themselves well. Or even if they aren’t struggling, it’s all about maintaining the well being of yourself.

Growing up as a teenager in the generation where social media started to grow and become popular, I’ve seen others including myself feel affected by it in a way. It built insecurities, low self-esteem, and overall a negative impact on mental health. Having to compare ourselves to unrealistic perceptions of others looks wise, social status, financial status, etc, it also brings pressure having to feel you have to do that same.

That’s particularly the reason I became passionate about taking care of myself. I practiced making myself feel happy by doing little acts of pampering such as trimming my hair every once in a while, doing my brows, and sticking to my facial skin routine. I would work out consistently, bake, and even do photography. Self care is different for everyone. It’s truly important that individuals work on the comfort of themselves as they’d feel much happier. Unfortunately, not everyone feels courageous enough to do those things for themselves.

Some individuals diminish the idea of self care as they find it to be selfish. They find themselves feeling guilty even doing the slightest thing for them. The true key to being able to take care of yourself is to realize that the only way you can love and keep others safe is to do it for yourself as well. Self care is not selfish, as it allows you to fuel your own content without depriving others of theirs. To be able to move forward with life, is to be able to maintain your well being and mentally health.

In consonance with the article ‘Why Self-care isn’t Selfish,’ it states “So there are aspects of self-care related to sleep — everyone should take a bath, light candles. There’s this idea that we need to calm down. But what can you experience today that is going to fill you with the positive emotions you need to do the most important things in your life? It’s about refueling yourself in order to engage with life” This was claimed by Dr. McGonigal who explained the importance of practicing self care for yourself. He explains in an aspect that self care isn’t about relaxing and taking it easy on yourself, but it is to feel more alive and to stay motivated with your daily life. It’s more than it’s little act of pampering yourself, but more of being kinder to yourself. Dr. Groppel also stated “Self care is a lot of things…It can be exercise, creating boundaries. It’s keeping yourself safe emotionally. Maybe it’s not arguing with that uncle about politics right now. It can be spiritual. But you are in control of it.” This means that you are in power of your own content. You are in power of keeping yourself satisfied and confiding in your own well-being.

Many individuals reinstate the idea of self care and what it may be. The act of safe keeping the well being of yourself has evolved over time. The one thing that hasn’t changed was the intention of it. At times, the acts of self care may not even feel like it, which often causes individuals to feel discouraged. It often affects their mental health which makes it a struggle to even take care of themselves.

Doing self care is more than just its little activities such as bathing or reading a book, but it’s really making yourself a priority and making good daily habits. People have had their concepts about what self care was. At one point it was pampering yourself, but now it’s a whole new meaning. According to the article ‘How to make ‘Self Care’ actually feel like Self care,’ it states “The ‘face masks and bubble baths’ of self-care hit a peak a little bit ago, then people started rebelling against it and talking about how it’s no longer that…It’s about mental health and taking care of yourself.” People feel that it’s not enough hence why they feel discouraged. The whole key to finding a self care routine that can work for you is to break down into four components. According to the article ‘How to make ‘Self Care’ actually feel like Self care,’ it states “We can break down self-care into four buckets: physical, mental, social and spiritual. Using those frames of references, you can begin to experiment with different techniques that might work.” The point of breaking down into four buckets would be to identify which one is mainly affecting you. For most people, the social aspect of their health could be affecting them the most because they tend to feel lonely which impacts their emotional, physical, and mental health. The solution in terms of self care would be to start figuring out what’s good for you.

How can one start practicing taking care of themselves? And even if they already do, how can they stick to it? As earlier mentioned, self care is many different things for people. Whatever those things may be, it is the idea of making it a consistent routine for yourself. Once it becomes a habit, that’s when you may start to feel your levels of serotonin rise. One of the things that truly makes me feel content is buying any sorts of fragrances. I love buying lotions, perfumes, body scrubs, butters, all of the sorts. I’d say this is a self care thing to me since I have a joy for collecting and adding it to my pamper routine. Self maintenance can vary from pampering, shopping, hobbies, or even just sitting down and watching television.

In the article “How do you practice self care?,” it mentions the different routines of employees who practice self care. Each mention the one aspect of their routine that they find to be therapeutic to them. One of them is named Fransesca Donner and she brings up how she’s made her dad’s spaghetti her own spaghetti. She says “When life starts spinning too fast, I go to the supermarket and get what I need: ground beef, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, flat leaf parsley, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, dried pasta. My world starts to calm just seeing the ingredients collected together in the basket.” That is her form of self care. Buying the ingredients of the spaghetti originally made by her father is what calms her down. Another individual in the article is Bonnie Wertheim. Bonnie discusses how she’s an introvert but still makes alone time for herself. She says “I am an introvert, which is to say that I love socializing, but it exhausts me. So I try to do at least one thing alone every day. Most mornings I’ll run a few miles around my quiet neighborhood…It keeps my interpersonal-emotional tank full and also reduces the daily number of nagging dysmorphic thoughts that pass through my brain.” She does morning runs for herself just for alone time which makes her feel good. Not only is she devoting time to herself, but is also doing something that keeps her mind at peace too.

Self care is a form of self love. There are many things or just one thing you can do, but as long as it makes you feel good, do it. Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish, it’s making sure your well-being is at a good place mentally, physically, and spiritually. As an individual myself, I find new ways to add on to my self care routine. Now you should be able to find the things that keep your body and mind healed and content.