Self-Care Awareness Month
Prioritizing self-care can be challenging for people, especially those who spend their time caring for others. This September — otherwise known as Self-Care Awareness Month — practice incorporating self-care techniques into your routine and encouraging others to do the same. If you’re struggling to figure out how to integrate self-care, the following tips can help you put yourself first.
What is Self-Care?
As the word itself suggests, self-care means caring for the self. Yet, defining what that means often looks different from one person to the next. Contributing to self-care can even look different day to day as your needs change.
The Global Self-Care Federation defines self-care as the ability to maintain one’s health with or without the support of a primary care provider. Manifesting self-care often includes managing medication responsibly, making healthy lifestyle choices daily, monitoring your health, and reaching out to experts if and when you need to escalate concerns. Advocating for your health can also fall under the category of self-care.
How You Can Start a Self-Care Routine This September
Finding ways to practice self-care often takes us on a journey of self-discovery and builds our self-confidence. Here are a few ways you can begin your own journey to well-being this September. Which methods will you incorporate into your daily routine?
Meditation
Spending a few moments sitting at rest, focusing on your breathing, and centering yourself can help you escape the stressful hustle and bustle of life and put your attention toward your own needs. Set aside time in your day to meditate, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. To help you meditate successfully, retire to a dark room, put on meditational music, or sit in a comfortable position that enables you to relax.
Prioritize Sleep
Sleep helps rejuvenate the body and the mind, replenishing our capacity to take on challenges throughout the day. Prioritize self-care by establishing a sleep schedule and adhering to it, even if sleep doesn’t come immediately within the first few nights. Getting into a sleep routine will help bolster your circadian rhythms and ensure you get enough rest before tackling the day ahead.
Ask for Help
As a caregiver or someone who helps others, you’re probably more familiar with giving help than receiving it. However, there’s nothing wrong with switching roles and expressing your needs. Start with small asks if you typically struggle with this concept, and don’t forget to celebrate your wins.
Practice Gratitude
Speaking of achievements, you can also manifest self-care through gratitude. In many ways, gratitude is an approach to positive thinking. It simply requires recognizing the opportunities you’ve received, the connections you’ve made, and the privileges that have colored your life.
Try Something New
If there’s something you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t allowed yourself to attempt, self-care can look like taking on that challenge and making it happen. For example, if you’ve always wanted to take a cooking class but have never set aside the time or funds, take the month of September to sign up for a few classes so you can begin to reap the benefits.
Resources From Visiting Angels of Pikesville/Owing Mills
When caring for yourself seems impossible while caring for another, Visiting Angels of Pikesville/Owings Mills offers a helping hand. Our respite care, personal care, and personal hygiene assistance services allow family caregivers to take a step back from their responsibilities and prioritize self-care. Our companion care services also assist seniors in achieving daily living tasks so they can set aside time to spend on themselves.
Contact us to learn more about how Visiting Angels of Pikesville/Owings Mills can help. We welcome the chance to give back to local caregivers and their aging loved ones.