The Importance of Self Care

SELF CARE TIPS

The Importance of Self Care

By: Chat Mills

Ah, February. The month of love.

Or at least according to the candy industry anyway.

However you feel about Valentine’s Day, I think we can all agree that February is a GREAT time of year to reconnect with yourself and begin the journey of self love. The new year is in full swing and you've had a whole month with whatever resolutions you've made.

I have always been someone who is athletic, fit, happy and overall in good health and wellness. If you’ve been following my journey then you know that there were some pretty significant bumps in the road that led to a major disconnect to the happy, fit, healthy athlete I once was.
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In 2020, after reeling with the effects of a global pandemic and the previous trauma of my life, I decided enough was enough. I had already gone through the most difficult transformation of my life through losing a child, so learning to love, appreciate, and be grateful for myself and all that I am couldn’t possibly be that hard, right?

Here’s the thing though → It’s actually really hard. ENTIRELY POSSIBLE but hard.

I know you feel me on this! Um, I do love myself. No, like, I totally love myself. Okay, I at least like who I am; that counts, right?

How do we get out of that place of thinking we love ourselves to really feeling that love? Is it really that important to incorporate self care? 

Here are my top reasons why it is important to love yourself, why you should incorporate self care and the benefits that doing this has had to my overall health and wellness.

Affirm: I love myself for all that I am 

Reason 1 - Less Stress

If you’re anything like me then you can easily confuse everyone else’s happiness as your own happiness. And while it feels good to know your friends and family are happy (especially if you played a role in acquiring this happiness) if you constantly prioritize everyone else’s needs and wants over your own, you are inviting stress to set in. 

When you take the time to prioritize your mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual health you are telling your mind, body, and soul that it’s time to connect with you. When we connect to the things that bring us joy we release a whole bunch of endorphins and lower our stress levels. 

And when you encounter the next stressful situation the more likely you are to be better equipped mentally and emotionally to handle this new stress because you've taken time to destress prior. 

I know how much more patient, relaxed, and calm I feel after a good laugh with my bestie, a dance class, five minutes of meditation, or a hot shower.

Reason 2 - Better Physical, Emotional, Mental, Social, Spiritual, and Professional Health

I mean, duh. I know this seems pretty obvious considering this massive list but at the end of the day it’s true! 

Think of it as a chain reaction like a set of dominoes lined up; once you tip the first the rest all follow suit and tip over. You get better mental health when you add health to your nutrition, get exercise, meditate, connect with likeminded people, and practice gratitude. 

Here’s the best part though - you DO NOT need to work on them all at the same time to see results in all aspects of your life.

Let’s say it again for the people in the back - you can take one step in the right direction and still tip all the dominoes over! It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Better physical health leads to better emotional, mental, spiritual health, which leads to better social and professional health. 

In my own life the dominoes fell like this: started a meditation and gratitude practice → consistent workout schedule → improved eating plan → more water & fresh air → improved mental health → left my 9-5 → living my best life!

This didn't quite happen as quickly as actual dominos fall but the point is that the commitments I made to changing my lifestyle, specifically prioritizing self care, created this chain reaction to the other areas of my life. Remember dominoes don't fall all at once they fall as a result of being pushed by another.

Reason 3 - A Longer, Healthier, Happier Life

If you look at some of foundations of our health: water, air, exercise, food, balanced emotions, etc., it becomes cleat that these foundations all impact one another. Let’s take a deeper dive.

I am someone who LOVES to dance. I mean LOVES! I can be in the grocery store and if my song is playing trust and believe that I am dancing my way through the produce section. I've been studying dance since I was 18, am a dance coach, and still take classes to this day. Dancing is in every fiber of my soul.

As previously shared, the pandemic really took a toll on my mental health. The stress of the all the uncertainty weighed on me heavily. Coupled with not having access to dance classes, the swimming pool, or any of my favorite activities, my mental health took a hit. 

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Not only was I anxious, I was stressed, lacking sleep, gaining weight, and eating in a way that I knew very conscientiously was not adding any health to my life. This was a vicious cycle that I was in, but I also knew (deep down) that nothing would get better if I didn't make it better. I couldn't control the fact that the dance studio was closed but that didn't mean I had to stop dancing.  

Can we skip to the good part? Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah….

I made my self care and health care a priority. I told my family I was struggling and they stepped up to give me the space I needed to get myself organized and make changes.

I started a mediation and gratitude practice to get my mental health together. That allowed me to feel more relaxed and promoted better sleep. Having adequate sleep allowed my body to rest and repair which gave me energy to start exercising. Exercising made me hungry AND made me crave more nutritious and whole foods. This allowed me to lose weight and fit into my clothing better which boosted my confidence and helped me keep the new habits going. 

And it's because of those changes that I attended hip hop class for the first time in almost five years this past Monday.

Will I ever be faced with stressful situations again in my life? Totally, please! The difference now is that I have tools to prioritize my self care. I am happier and healthier. I am also a better mum, wife, auntie, sister, friend, coach - not perfect - just better. And the changes that I made a year ago are still having an impact on my life today. It's reason enough for me to keep going!

This article by Everyday Health says that “many common self-care practices have been linked to longevity and other positive health outcomes.” Check out the article for other self care practices that promote health longevity. ​

Start by Lining Up Your Dominoes

Let's just take a moment and review what we know.

→ We know that self care is important because it impacts many of the foundational areas of our life (water, rest, food, mental, etc.).

→ We also know that you don't have to make changes all at once for all the areas of your life to feel an impact. 

→ And finally we know that because these foundational areas of our life are important for our health longevity, it is not selfish, rather necessary, to prioritize our self care.

Start simply. Sometimes it best to just get an idea of what you'd like to connect with for the change to start. I wanted to manage my weight, feel more fit, have more energy, not be stressed, and have my confidence back and when I tackled all those changes all at once I burnt out real quick. 

Back at the drawing board I realized I just needed to know where I wanted to go and that getting there didn't have to be a sprint. So when I started by meditating and practicing gratitude I felt the change in my spirituality AND my mental health. This gave me confidence to revisit exercise and well, you know the rest. 

I am a big believer that having a plan is a great way to start. If you vibe with this, then check out this yearly planner → here

If starting day to day is easier then check out this planner → here

​This whole month is going to concentrate on self care because I believe it's that important. So stay tuned for even more goodies on how you can prioritize your self care. And until the next time,