By ~ Serenity Dumler-Beecher, Art from Ashes Creative Intern
Self-care can take many forms and look different for everyone. According to Google, self-care is defined as “the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.”
Sometimes it can feel hard to practice self-care because you have a busy schedule with work or other responsibilities, or you may be worried or concerned for other people in your life. However, it is hard to help others and to accomplish everything you wish to do if you never take the time to care for yourself and your health. When you forget or neglect your own needs and your own mental health, you can be subject to things like burnout, difficulty sleeping, illness, declines in mental health, and feelings of helplessness.
Practicing self-care can provide many benefits such as better stress management, growth in energy levels, reduced risk of getting sick, and increases in mental health and overall well-being (National Institute of Mental Health, 2022). It can also help you to regain physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional balance.
My personal form of self-care can vary from day to day depending on my mood or the events of a particular day. However, my self-care routine can typically include the following: listening to music, singing, reading a book, watching a show, or spending time with friends and family.
As part of last week’s episode of “Voices from THE HUB” on CityHeART Radio, I asked some fellow CityHeART team members for their thoughts on self-care routines and activities:
- For Paige Pelonis, her form of self-care can include cooking, getting up on time to do her hair and makeup, sticking to routines, writing, and time to herself. She also enjoys taking baths and walking her dogs.
- For Patrick, a fellow intern at CityHeART, his form of self-care is cooking and making fun of me (Serenity)…but don’t worry — we are friends, so his efforts are reciprocated.
- For Victoria, another intern at CityHeART, she enjoys taking the time to do a long skin care routine.
Other examples of self-care can include: maintaining a balanced diet and hydration, practicing breathing exercises, having a fixed sleep schedule, relaxing activities such as meditating, focusing on things you are grateful for or on the positive things that happen rather than the bad, and writing/journaling. You can also exercise by doing yoga, running, walking, dancing, or playing a beloved sport.
Your form of self-care can look however you want it to. You can set the time, the pace, and the activity.
Self-care is your moment to focus on yourself, so take advantage of it.
— Serenity Dumler-Beecher, CityHeART Radio
This is the first full episode of Voices of the Hub with Serenity. This episode was recorded on CityHeART Radio on Jan. 22 2024 at 10:00am.
Produced & Hosted by CityHeART’s Art from Ashes Creative Intern Serenity Dumler-Beecher