What is Self-Care?

I think my little blog has felt a bit neglected this week. Between the holiday weekend, picking up a new volunteer gig (which I am so excited about- more on that to come), figuring out how to fit in a few hours of counseling work a week at a local all-girls college, and continuing to see clients daily in my private practice, I have been one busy bee. My first love is, of course, my private practice, but one of my favorite things about my work is being able to be involved in the lives of others and the different settings that I am able to do this in. Because things can get hectic, and I spend a lot of time with others, sometimes this means that my to-do list has to take a backseat in favor of practicing good self-care (hence, the lack of blog posts this past week).

No matter who you are, no matter what you do, and no matter the level of daily stress you encounter, self-care is essential. What exactly is self-care?? Well, wikipedia (the source for all accurate information-ha) defines it as 'personal health maintenance.' I like that definition. I like to think of self-care as just that- the necessary things we must do to maintain our health and well-being. Self-care includes sleep, hygiene, eating, taking time to be alone, and taking time to be with others. This is by no means an exhaustive list. But our to-do lists and plans need to come second to meeting our basic physical and social needs. 


Whether you are struggling with an eating disorder, anxiety, depression, a broken relationship or grief, it is so important to focus on the basics and take care of yourself. Like my favorite quote (posted on the right side of my blog) says-


Love yourself, accept yourself, forgive yourself and be good to yourself because without you, the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things. - Dr Leo Buscaglia