Why Self-Care Doesn’t Need to Involve a Trip to the Spa

Small Ways to Be Nice to Yourself This Self-Care September

Most of the time self-care doesn’t involve massive rocks and unrealistic interiors. Photo by Roberto Nickson.

Happy Self Care September, everyone! 

Apparently, according to the copywriter’s friend, Answer the Public, one of the search terms around this topic is, “What are self-care?”

So I’m here to tell you my version of what self-care are. 

But first! Let me start with a controversial view…

Most people don’t really know what self-care is

If we’re to believe images like the above (which I found on Unsplash by searching for ‘self-care’) we might have a slightly overblown idea of what being nice to ourselves should involve. 

A lot of us might think that looking after yourself means doing very specific activities like tucking into an expensive box of chocolates, going to a spa, taking a holiday, buying a fancy new outfit, or even writing in a big ol’ self-care journal with all our innermost thoughts and feelings. 

But on the other hand, we also have the opposite problem. We can also be handed broad and unhelpful phrases like, “self-care is being kind to yourself”. 

How do you just ‘be kind to yourself’? How do you get your brain to think you’re worth it in the first place?

Let’s face it, if we knew what being kind to ourselves meant, the world wouldn’t have head massagers or road rage or beer. 

Self-care ideas according to Kate 

So to demystify the massively overused but vitally important phrase, here are the small, everyday things I do to give myself some care

• Wear cosy socks

• Notice to the tension in my shoulders 

• Turn on my phone’s ‘Do Not Disturb’ button for at least an hour a day

• Drink a cup of tea without doing anything else

• Eat well at least two-thirds of the time 

• Read a book

• Write 

• Exercise (like, 20 mins 3 times a week - not much) 

• Take breaks away from my laptop 

• Sing and play music 

• Break my time into ten-minute chunks

• Trust people (while listening to my instincts) 

• Accept help

• Talk about my insecurities 

• Text or call someone if I feel low 

• Go to therapy as much as I can afford to

• Allow myself to eat biscuits 

• Kiss my pets on the head

Kate’s self-care list can lead to positive side effects like

• Being able to focus on one task at a time

• Increased productivity

• Decreased effort 

• Feeling less guilt and shame

• Having fewer negative thoughts

• Gaining the ability to ignore negative thoughts

• Feeling less tension

• Enjoying more stuff 

Here are three of my self-care practices in one – a good book, a cuppa and comfy pair of socks. Photo by Anthony Tran.

Don’t Be Too Dramatic with Your Self-Care

It’s the small, everyday gestures you make towards yourself that will make the world of difference. 

Yes, if you can afford to find a massive rock to look at from your over-priced bathroom, by all means do that. 

But if you can notice when you need a short rest, eat nourishing food, and read a book you enjoy for ten minutes after your lunch, they will be the actions your brain needs to start thinking, “oh, I feel good, I must be worth it”. 

Do You Know What Else Feels Good? Brilliant Copy

But I won’t patronise you by giving you a button to my contact page so you can get in touch with a self-confessed mental health writer. 

Love you.