People seek out many forms of stress relief activities worldwide and fail to realise the importance of self-care. But, unfortunately, no action will assist you during a time of stress unless you wholly care for yourself.

Self-love & self-care are the multidimensional, multifaceted processes of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being.

Self-care is a person’s conscious act to promote physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. There are many forms self-care can take. It could be spending time in nature, taking a relaxing bubble bath, or ensuring you get enough sleep. Regular self-care practice is resilience building toward stressors and strains. When you have taken the appropriate steps to care for your mind, body and soul, you will be better equipped to live your best life.

Many people believe self-care is a luxury rather than a priority. Consequently, they feel overwhelmed, tired, and unable to handle life’s inevitable challenges. Therefore, assessing how you care for yourself in several domains is essential to ensure you care for your mind, body, and spirit. Not to forget, the healing power of touch creates an enormous impact on one’s well-being.
Types of Self-Care

Self-care is more than relaxation. It’s about taking responsibility and care of yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. Finding balance and harmony to address these areas is vital to care for your health and well-being. Sometimes you need more self-care in one area to restore equilibrium or find relief from a stressor.

Julia Anastasiou is based at Marylebone Light Centre & Shooters Hill Greenwich as a Holistic Therapist, Certified Mindset & Wellbeing Coach, including Hypnotherapy and Time Line Therapy. In addition, she is a practicing Yoga and Meditation Teacher with 15 years of teaching experience and 30 years of well-being clinical experience. Therapeutically, Julia specialises in Reflexology, Natural Face Lift, Facial Rejuvenation, Holistic and Ayurvedic Massage, Reiki and Shamanic Healing.

Physical Self-Care

In order for your body to run efficiently, you need to take care of it. There is a strong connection between your body, emotions and mind. You will also think and feel better when caring for your physical body. Physical self-care includes how you nourish your body, how much sleep you get every night, how much daily physical activity you do and how well you care for your physical needs.

Begin by asking these questions to assess whether some areas require improvement:

Do you get adequate sleep?
Is your diet nourishing your body?
Are you taking charge of your health?
Are you exercising enough?
How often do you receive a massage or holistic treatment?

Mental Self-Care

How you think and what you occupy your mind will significantly influence your psychological well-being. Mental self-care includes meditation and mindfulness, also doing things that keep your mind calm, clear and sharp. Mental self-care also involves doing things that enable you to stay mentally healthy. For example, practising self-compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance allows you to maintain a supportive inner dialogue.

Consider your mental self-care:

Do you make time for mentally stimulating activities?
Are you proactively doing things to help you remain mentally healthy?
Is meditation and mindfulness part of your practice?
Do you spend time in nature?

Emotional Self-Care

It’s essential to have healthy coping skills to deal with uncomfortable or negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, fear, hurt, guilt, shame and sadness. Emotional self-care may include setting boundaries and activities to acknowledge and authentically express your feelings regularly and safely. Time Line Therapy is highly effective when dealing with negative emotions, limiting beliefs and setting goals for the future.

Assess your emotional self-care strategies:

Do you have healthy ways of processing your emotions?
Do you incorporate activities and rituals that increase your emotional state of well-being?

Social Self-Care

Humans are social beings, which is why social self-care is essential in life. When life is busy, or you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, it is easy to let go of relationships, but it is crucial to maintain an optimal social life. So socialisation is key to self-care. Sometimes it is challenging to create time for friends, and easier to neglect your relationships when life gets busy.
Social connections are essential to your self-care and well-being. The best way to cultivate and maintain social self-care is to create time and energy into building your friendships and relationships with others.

To assess your social self-care, consider the following:

Are you seeing your friends face-to-face?
What do you do to nurture and enhance your relationships with friends and family?

Spiritual Self-Care

Research shows that a lifestyle with a spiritual connection has more of a sense of meaning, purpose and fulfilment. Nurturing your spirit can include anything that helps you develop a sense of understanding, meaning, and connection with nature and the universe. Spiritual self-care is essential whether you enjoy spending time in nature, meditation, or practicing yoga.

As you consider your spiritual life

What questions do you ask yourself about your life and experience?
Are you engaging in spiritual practices?

Why is Self-Care Important?

An effective self-care routine has several essential health benefits.

Some of these include:

Reducing anxiety and depression
Reducing stress and improving resilience
Improving happiness
Increasing energy
Reducing burnout
Stronger interpersonal relationships

Self-care practices have been linked to other health and wellness benefits, including a longer life. For example, exercise, meditation, finding a sense of purpose and meaning in life, plus sleep have all been connected to an increased lifespan.

Create a Self-Care Plan

As a Certified Mindset & Holistic Well-Being Coach Julia can design an effective bespoke self-care plan tailored to your life and needs. Customising a self-care plan can be a preventative measure to ensure that overwhelm, stress, and burnout are no longer part of your life.

Together you will assess which areas of your life require attention and self-care. As your situation transforms, your self-care needs will also change.

www.juliaanastasiou.com
@juliaanastasiou108