Hey, You’re Doing Self-Care Wrong

The pandemic has made a negative difference to the way that people look after themselves. From the closed spas, businesses that offer help and the lack of people around, to the months of isolation, self-care kind of went by the wayside as a result.

I’ve heard of so many people who have stopped checking in on each other and the past year became about survival rather than really living. In fact, in today’s Instagram post, I just shared this.

Self Care, Right and Wrong: Do You Agree?

There are harmless options for self-care, such as Netflix binges and bubble baths to affirmations on the wall, but you could be doing self-care all wrong if you’re calling a bottle of wine self-care. You could be doing it wrong if you’re face-planting the cream cakes and calling it therapy.

Self-care is so much more than just having a glass of wine with your steak, it’s about choosing teeth braces and whitening to improve your smile and your confidence. It’s about ensuring that you are enjoying what you are doing for yourself and you are intentional in your ability to do better for yourself and feel good.

For example, I’ve recently purchased a hula hoop and doing so gives me so much joy. I take time for myself, even if it’s just a few minutes. Hula hooping gives me time to just relax, have some time alone and feel happy.

You are allowed to ensure that your needs are met, and it starts with learning to cope with the challenges that life has to offer you. You should do all that you can to manage self-talk and live true to your passions in life.

If this resonates with you, keep reading because here are some ways you’re doing self-care wrong.

You are putting yourself last. It’s easy to do when you care a lot about other people but putting yourself less than first is doing a disservice to who you are. You can say no to other people – it will protect you from harm and it will ensure that you are doing things that you want to do!
It’s only every now and then. When was the last time you actually indulged in self-care? It’s easy to ignore yourself but you shouldn’t – self-care is vital if you want to feel valid and happy. You deserve to prioritize your sleep and your diet, and you should say yes to you every single time.
It’s on the never-ending to-do list. We often add self-care to the list of things that you want to do but if you never get around to it, what’s the point in putting it on the list? You should stop amplifying that sense of guilt and just pay attention to caring for yourself.
You are doing it alone. Self-care isn’t always something you have to do alone, you know. You are still indulging in self-care if you are with friends and taking time to go out and eat together.
You are only focusing on improving yourself. While self-improvement is admirable, you can use self-care for more than self-improvement. It’s something that you do for yourself and it doesn’t have to fit into any goals for success or anything more than that.
You think it’s easy. Sometimes, self-care is hard. It’s not always easy to look after yourself, especially if you’re putting yourself last and you’re not used to it. It won’t always be easy but it’ll sure be worth it!