Self-Care Awareness Month

This month join us in celebrating Action for Happiness’s Self-Care September. An annual awareness event aimed at getting us all to take better care of ourselves, Self-Care September promotes those simple things that make us feel healthier and happier and that improve our relationships with family, friends and the wider world.

When it comes to self-care, most of us are guilty of letting things slide. But this is the month to fully commit. Read on for our complete guide to the benefits of better self-care and tips for year-round self-care awareness.

All About Self-Care

You probably think that you’ve got self-care pretty sorted. Yet most of us are guilty of neglecting our needs...

What is self-care?

At its essence, self-care is looking after yourself. Can you feed, clothe, clean and medicate yourself without help? Assuming you’re relatively healthy that’s the very basic self-care you owe yourself. But there’s more to it than that.

Modern life demands an awful lot of us and so it can be challenging to give ourselves the love we require. Indeed, many of us feel a sense of guilt if we’re not constantly on the go, seeing rest and recuperation as weakness or extravagance. However, if we’re to be at our best, physically and mentally it’s important to be lenient with ourselves, practicing self-care.

Self-care v indulgence

According to businesses keen to cash in, self-care is all about allowing ourselves a little treat. A cheeky flavoured latte, a diet-busting takeaway or a pricey flower subscription is all it takes (if Insta ads are to be believed) to properly care for oneself.

However, self-care shouldn’t be expensive. It’s not about lavish spending, unhealthy binge-eating or allowing yourself to switch off from the world and your responsibilities. Conversely, these kinds of indulgences may negatively impact your wellbeing.

Self-care: everyone’s different

When it comes to self-care we each have different priorities and needs. To adequately care for yourself it’s important to recognise those things that are stressors for you – issues, situations and even relationships that create health and wellbeing-impacting stress. Knowing your own particular stressors can help you minimise their influence on your life.

It’s also important to understand the coping strategies that work for you. For example, some people thrive in social situations, gaining energy from spending time with others. Some, on the other hand, need to recharge their social battery with dedicated me-time.

It can help to make a list of the everyday coping strategies that get you through tough times. Many, you might notice, don’t help as much as you’d imagined (for example, drinking alcohol, situation avoidance or throwing yourself into work). Others (chatting with your best friend, a long walk, an evening at the cinema) may have a greater impact than you’d realised.

Self-Care for Better Health

Self-care isn’t just this week’s buzzword. Research proves that proper self-care is beneficial to almost all aspects of our lives, from our physical health to the way we work and how we relate to friends and families.

Self-care and your mental wellbeing

If you’ve ever met with a therapist, you’ll probably know that proper self-care is the cornerstone of mental wellbeing. A good program of self-care is always recommended for those with conditions such as depression or anxiety, and with good reason.

Specific research judges ‘self-care interventions’ such as mind-body therapies, exercise regimes or supplementation as ‘effective or promising’[i]. Additionally, studies asking whether self-care helps us cope or if coping leads to better self-care show that self-care (e.g., relaxation techniques and adequate sleep) is more effective than the use of what are typically called ‘coping styles’ in helping people to deal with stressful situations[ii].

Self-care may seem hard to lean into when times are tough. However, it’s worth remembering that a good self-care regime can not only reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms[iii] but that it can also improve our ability to deal with stress[iv].

How self-care benefits your physical health

A large part of self-care is rooted in taking care of your physical health. Regular exercise, eating well and good sleep are the self-care big three, each proven to benefit your mental and physical wellbeing alike.

The benefits of regular exercise, for example, are well known. Not only can a good stroll, gym session or workout class help you to stay strong and stave off obesity but, according to the NHS, it’ll reduce your risk of serious illnesses, including type 2 diabetes, stroke and coronary heart disease[v]. Other self-care basics, such as good hydration [vi], a healthy diet [vii] and a reduced intake of caffeine[viii] and alcohol [ix] are strongly linked to better physical outcomes too.

Self-care and your relationships

Prioritising number one through a commitment to self-care can sometimes feel a little selfish. Studies show, however, that the benefits of self-care are far reaching. In fact, taking care of yourself can also help those around you, as evidenced by one study, which concluded that ‘a positive family environment influences and is influenced by wellbeing and by sustainable behaviours that include self-care'[x].

Research proves that self-care can help us to better navigate conflict in our relationships[xi] and aid us in being better parents[xii]. Self-care can even improve your work life, making you more effective and productive in your job[xiii].

Everyday Self-Care Solutions

Taking steps towards improved self-care begins with the daily requirements of our mind and body. Making numerous big, sweeping lifestyle changes all at once can be overwhelming, resulting in a failure to stick to any one. Instead of a complete overhaul, begin with small changes that you feel able to stick to, such as:

Making easy meal substitutions: self-care doesn’t have to mean a calorie-controlled diet. Simple subs such as occasionally swapping red meat for chicken or tofu or white bread for wholemeal can up your health game without effort and stress
Committing to meals and drinks: skipping meals can lead to overindulgence in unhealthy treats later in the day, while forgetting to drink water can make us lethargic and headachey. Try to eat three square meals daily while making effort to drink at least 1.5L of water[xiv] too
Gradually upgrading your physical activity: don’t jump into the deep end when it comes to a new exercise regime. Instead of expecting yourself to commit to an hour a day on the treadmill, start small. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Commit to one low impact class a week. Join a friend for a twice weekly walk in nature
Trying relaxation: not everyone relaxes in the same way, so choose a get-away-from-it-all activity that’s right for you. That might mean meditation via an app or in a class. It might be getting creative at home or spending a morning at an art gallery. It might simply involve doing a daily crossword or trying out journalling
Taking breaks: we are each entitled to allow time for ourselves. One easy way to do this is to take your full hour’s lunch break outside of the office instead of eating at your desk. Another is muting the group chat that doesn’t serve you or unfollowing social media accounts that have you feeling down
Supplementing for health: something as simple as taking a vitamin or probiotic supplement can help to give us the feeling of doing something good for ourselves while also supporting ongoing health
Being ready for a self-care intervention: a large part of caring for oneself is recognising when things aren’t right and asking for help. This means speaking up when overwhelmed at work. Or it might mean diplomatically raising issues with a partner or friend. And it definitely means speaking to your GP when your health or wellbeing takes a turn