DAY ONE
what's a self-care story?
We all have one. Looking back at your life with the perspective you have now, you can see that even before you knew what self-care was, your approach to it has been steadily evolving and it's always been a factor in what's going on in your life.
I didn't start paying attention to self-care until it became a buzzword that bothered me. I was annoyed by the way people threw the term around and the consumerism of it all. I knew how to pamper my body and turn off my phone to escape the world for a bit, but those things did nothing for the chronic stress, overwhelm, and anxiety that I was suffering from daily. Eventually, I learned that there's more to it than the performative displays that I saw on social media.
I had to go beyond the trendy application of self-care and explore the therapeutic definition. According to Raphailia Michael, MA, self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.
I was never one to be consistent about taking care of these things deliberately. From a young age, when things weren't going my way or when I was feeling emotionally drained for any reason, self-care was the first thing to go.
For many years, I doggedly poured from an empty cup, believing I didn’t have time or access to refills. Stuck in limiting beliefs, struggle and scarcity, self-care seemed like a luxury that I couldn't afford.
But that was only part of my story.
When I learned that self-care is a multi-dimensional, holistic approach to life, not just a way to find relief or distraction in the moment, that's when my story began to change.
What about you?
Over the next ten days, we will explore our self-care stories and start imagining how we want to evolve going forward. Reflect on the questions below and write your answers in your notebook or journal. You can also leave any thoughts, questions, or reflections that you want to share with me and the other participants in the comments section below.
reflection questions
What did your parents teach you about self-care and the importance of healthy habits — mind, body, and soul?
How did other influences in art, media, and culture affect your perspective on self-care?
How did your self-care habits or lack of them impact your life as you got older?
When did you learn what self-care is and how crucial it is to your health and happiness as a human being?
How have you acted or not acted on this awareness?