Self-care is more than a bubble bath, face mask and a glass of wine – However that sounds great right about now. There are four important aspects of self-care which are, Mental, physical, intellectual, and emotional self-care. It is a conscious action taken in order to promote a healthy balance in your life. We all know taking good care of ourselves creates a positive outlook towards the world around us and essentially helps us become functioning members of society. That is why it is important to practice these forms of self-care constantly.

Mental self-care comes in right on top because of obvious reasons, your mental health is all too important not to be taken care of first. So, in order to make sure your mental health is where it should be, ask yourself these few questions. Are you sleeping well? are you constantly drained? are you anxious, or worried more often than not, Are your constant thoughts positive or negative? Now take some time to really answer those questions honestly to help you establish where your mental health might be. If you do find that your mental health is slipping more than it should this is a sign that your mind needs a little bit of TLC. Start with reading positive affirmations or speaking to friends or family who have your back. Most times just a reminder of who we allow us to break the cycle of negativity. This is where physical care plays a huge role, declutter your space, organize your room, get some sleep, practice yoga, exercise, make sure to eat nutritious food, and yes this is the part where you take that bubble bath or hot shower and show yourself some extra love. Having a daily routine is just as big a part of self-care and helps our mental health stay strong too. Create your own daily routine and try to stick to it as much as possible. 

Intellectual self-care promotes us to engage in creative and mentally stimulating activities, again taking us back to strengthening our mental wellbeing. Activities such as reading a book (for the fun of course), playing brain games, challenging us by taking up personal hobbies promote intellectual wellbeing. This ensures that we are multidimensional and do not get stuck in the never-ending work, home repeat cycle. 

One’s emotional self-care can again be tied right back into the last three ways we must take care of our wellbeing. Take care of your emotional well being by accepting your feelings, acknowledging when you’re feeling down, this helps the process of understanding your emotions and getting to the root to solve them. Remember all feelings are valid and whatever you’re feeling is valid too. Practice mindfulness, staying positive, seek help and support from those around you. Self-care days should be every day, let’s learn and relearn how to love ourselves and accept every inch of who we are. Like Mac Miller once said, I’m treating me right !.