The Belief Distillery Melanie Parker Hypnotherapy anxiety,Healthy lifestyle,self-care What Does Self Care Mean, and Why Is It Important?

What Does Self Care Mean, and Why Is It Important?

Self care is important because it helps you maintain your mental and physical health.

It can be used as a tool to help overcome trauma, depression, anxiety, stress, addiction or any other negative feelings that may affect the way one perceives themselves.

So what is Self-care?

It is all about caring for ourselves to manage our health without the aid of a medical professional. In health care, self-care is any human regulatory function which is under individual control, deliberate and self-initiated, for the purpose of the maintenance of health and wellbeing.

Self-care has become more popular as not only are medications expensive and come with long waiting lists, but we are all becoming more aware of the emotional and mental effects of not looking after ourselves properly. The problem with defining it comes in our uniqueness as individuals – there are as many ways to take care of yourself as there are people to do it.

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Self-care can also be an outlet for creativity; activities like cooking healthy food, painting on canvas or creating art in general.

It can be exercising and working out or it can be getting together with your best friend for hug and a chat. Whatever self-care looks like for you personally, you need to work with what makes you feel good about yourself.”

A common misconception about self-care practices is that they’re only important to those who lack access to may be a little ‘hippie’ or with much more time on their hands. The reality is that even small acts of self-care benefit everyone. From putting lotion on your skin in the morning to attending a 5 day yoga retreat, looking after yourself is not only important for everyone’s wellbeing, but possible for even the busiest of us to acheive.

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Self-care can include taking a break from work to do something else, getting enough sleep each night, eating nutritious food, drinking water regularly and exercising. It may seem like these are all simple tasks, but they are often overlooked by people who have busy lives and don’t take time to prioritize their own well being.

Eating well every day may seem like an easy task to accomplish when self-care isn’t on your mind; however with how busy our lives are these days people often forget about their own needs which leads them having less energy throughout the day.

It’s not just what you eat either – sometimes people find themselves eating junk foods because they’re “too tired” after a long day to make themselves a nutritious meal. While junk food is quick and easy, it’s not going to give you the energy or nutrition that your mind & body needs.

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Self-care can also be something as simple as spending time with friends – but often times people don’t take this into consideration either because they’re too focused on work. Spending quality time with family members every now and then will allow for better communication and bonding between relatives while allowing you some much needed downtime.

The list goes on! Self care means different things to different people so find what works best for you by exploring your favourite activities.

One important thing to note is that self-care should never be used as a way to escape from reality or deal with difficult emotions like stress, anxiety and depression. If you’re struggling in some other aspect of your life it’s crucial that you seek professional help before using self-care as the “quick fix” for those issues. When done properly, though, self care can lead to great benefits – which are listed below!

* Improved immune system function * Reduced blood pressure * Increased feelings of happiness * Better coping skills when dealing with future stressful situations

I could go on all day about how much good regular self care does for our mental and physical health but I’ll stop here by mentioning one last benefit – self care can help with relaxation and relieve stress

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Related Post

What is Self-TalkWhat is Self-Talk

I talk an awful lot about self-talk, so I thought I would do a post going back to basics on what self-talk actually is.

Self-talk is your internal dialogue. It’s influenced by your subconscious mind, and it reveals your thoughts, beliefs, questions, and ideas. Self-talk can be both negative and positive. It can be encouraging, and it can be distressing. There is a school of thought that states that much of your self-talk depends on your personality. I disagree. Your self-talk much like your personality depends on your core beliefs about yourself and the world around you.

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It can also depend on your goals, what you want to achieve, and how much effort you’ve put into achieving it. Some common self-talk includes: “I’m not good enough”. These words are often used by people who have low confidence in themselves.

This negative type of self-talk not only hurts the person’s chances of success but also further erodes that confidence. Other common self-talk includes: “I can do it”, which is often used by people who have higher levels of confidence and goals. This positive type of self-talk will help a person reach their goals faster than negative types of self-talk.

In the field of sport psychology , researchers in the 1990s discovered that how anathlete talks to him or herself can either make or break a game. In order for an athlete to perform well, they must overcome mental barriers such as “pressure” and “fear”. Self-talk helps athletes achieve this. For example, when Olympic swimmer Dara Torres swam the 100-meter freestyle , she recorded that herself-talk went as follows: “Brain on fire, legs awake, you are fast, fluid and relaxed. Let it flow through you. It’s going to be a great day.”

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Self-talk is used in other types of sports as well and can help the athlete focus on positive thoughts while competing against another person or a clock. However, self-talk isn’t just used in sports. It can be used in all aspects of our lives.

It’s not enough to just talk to ourselves to benefit from positive self talk however. According to statistical data and research on self-talk it is actually more effective when it’s written than said aloud.

In a study titled The “Self-Talk” Technique Effectiveness as Measured by Cognitive Processing in the Randomized Control Trial, scientists discovered that students who wrote their goals down and then said them aloud once a day achieved significantly better grades than those who did not use self-talk. Also, the students who used self-talk had a higher overall GPA than the other group of students.

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In addition, in a study titled The Relative Effectiveness of Three Methods for Using Self-Talk to Reduce Acute Perceived Stress , scientists discovered that elementary school teachers who wrote their stressors on cards and then said them aloud in front of a mirror reported less stress than those teachers who did not use self-talk.

Self-talk is very effective in almost everything. Even if someone has a “bad” self-image, they can use their words to help them reach higher levels of success. Self-talk is powerful and should be used frequently. When you say something aloud, it is multiplied by 1000% for the content of information going into your mind. If you don’t believe it then try this: when enacting a positive self-talk statement into your life, say it aloud. Read the sentence out loud. That’s called vocalization and that will increase the impact of positive self-talk by about 1000%.

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Never Join a diet again that treats you like Jane DoeNever Join a diet again that treats you like Jane Doe

Are you already looking at joining another diet program next year? Maybe a diet you lost a few lbs on before, maybe trying a ‘new’ diet? Either way, you are probably thinking of dropping some weight after Christmas or getting into a new dress for the Christmas party.

The problem is that all the diets are the same concept, restrict what you can and can’t eat (if not the amounts) and do tedious exercise to shed weight. The doctor says it’s simply a case of eating less and moving more, if the doctor says it, it must be true right?

WRONG!

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You are not the same as the women in the diet group on Facebook, you are not the same as the 20 other people sitting in group weigh in. So why would following the same strategy work for you?

It won’t.

And it won’t work for them, because they are different from everyone else in the room to. Weight-Watchers, Slimming World, Atkins and all the rest are designed for Jane Doe. Who only eats when she is hungry and is perfect and follows every rule. Heads up, she doesn’t exist. But that doesn’t stop doctors and slimming companies from treating all women like her.

If you are a comfort eater, the same feelings that drive you to eat, are going to be even stronger when you had a bad day and want pizza, and now you feel even worse, so you want pizza even more and you end up in a cycle that leaves you covered in crumbs from every Ryvita in the house and still ordering a dominoes – and feeling rubbish about that so let’s get the cookies too. The diet is actually contributing to your weight gain, making you feel crap about yourself and holding you back from your weight loss goals.

No amount of just substituting foods is going to work in this situation, because it isn’t hunger driving the decision and you are effectively telling yourself not to push the big red button, the shiny one, that looks like a Dominoes app.

None of this is your fault

However, a habitual eater, not driven by emotion and a need for fatty, starchy or sweet food, may find that one slice of rye bread with a little humous is enough to stop them charging through a pack of biscuits, but will struggle to eat only what they need at a buffet.

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No amount of telling an addictive eater they can have only one biscuit with a cup of tea is going to make a bit of difference, the food is calling them from the moment they know where it is and once they pop, they can’t stop!

If you relate to these, please know, none of this is your fault. We are designed to find sugar more attractive as, in primitive times it was a source of energy, calories and was rare. When we find it, we are designed to want to eat it until it is gone. Add to that the addictive additives manufacturers put in our food and you have a combination scientists are proving is as addictive as cocaine!

Your parents may have told you that you couldn’t leave the table unless you ate everything in front of you, or when you hurt yourself or needed comfort, they gave you sweets. But you can overcome these challenges and unlearn the unhelpful beliefs.

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With diets being designed for a Jane Doe that doesn’t exist (much like one size fits all leggings), how can you hack them to get the best out of your diet if they are your only option?

Well, while I have been quiet, I have been creating cheat sheets to help you no matter what your eating type (or if you’re a combination of the three). I’ve been taking some tips from the incredible Marisa Peer and have adapted her teaching into the following quiz to determine what kind of eater you are to make sure you get the information that is tailored to you.

You want to overcome your evening cravings, you want to be able to control yourself at the family get together – I can show you how. How you can overcome the emotions that lead you to unraveling a days worth of healthy eating in 5 minutes,. How to overcome the voice coming from the kids snack draw. How to have the body you want. It’s easy, only takes a few moments and is completely FREE.

Stop setting yourself up to fail and work with your eating style to start shedding weight now, not after Christmas, after all, you have got that party coming up!

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How to have more time without joining the 5am clubHow to have more time without joining the 5am club

Do you never have enough time? I’d love to go out, but when? I just want a bath but I don’t have time. I don’t have time to exercise or meditate.

to do list
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I used to say these things to myself and my family all the time in between the never ending mountain of laundry, the sides that seem to make themselves sticky when I turn my back and the never ending to-do list. Not having time to go to the park because I have to get the house clean, keep the children clean, walk the dog, make myself pretty, make the thing for nursery, find clothes to donate to charity, and make a lasagne I can drop off to that friend in need.

And what did I have to show for it, miserable children that couldn’t let off steam so were constantly under my feet or drawing on the walls (add that to the to do list!). Friends I never had time to see properly and when I did, all I had to talk about was complaining about The List, the children, the husband. And, to add insult to injury, the sides were still sticky, the floor still covered in goodness-knows-what, and that mountain of laundry never seemed to get smaller.

Eventually, even the social engagements with friends and family felt like another thing on the to-do list. I was stressed. I wasn’t a fun mum. I wasn’t a fun anything. I complained about life to my amazing husband, and I complained about my husband and my home to anyone who would listen. I felt I was drowning until I literally couldn’t face it anymore.

woman on pier, depressed and burnt out sitting with her knees up and her head down
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I had other problems at the time too, problems that exacerbated this need, and this need added fuel to the already raging fire and I was consumed by an apathy and lethargy that can only be described as burn out. I cried and slept for what felt like eons, until I learnt that it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a secret the media don’t want to tell you, even some women try and keep up the façade…

As amazing and awsome as you are, YOU ARE NOT SUPERWOMAN. I thought I could be and it only made me and my family miserable.

Picture a bucket in front of you, with a hose filling it with water. The water is slowly filling the bucket and you come along and put one hole in it, the children. Then you put another hole in it for your partner. Then another for work, another and another and no matter how much water the hose puts in the bucket, it is getting emptier and emptier until there is nothing left to give.

woman in lotus pose balancing on suspended loop of material
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When we breath, we take a breath in, and give a breath out. We give AND WE RECEIVE. Try now, take a big breath in and then one long breath out, give everything you have and take nothing back, and you will soon find yourself in very desperate need to take a breath in. It is natural to have this balance, to give and to receive. (If you haven’t already, please stat breathing now)

Now I am able to have balance and look after myself, every part of my life and my families life is unrecognisably better. I take the time to exercise and I have more energy to play with them and feel happier because of it. I take the time to meditate, and am calmer and shout less, I make time to do these things because they are important to me and they make me a better person.

We have days out as a family, and with the girls, and even the odd date night.

My children are better behaved, and when they aren’t I am more equipped to handle it. They give me more space at home to get things done between the fun at double the speed.

Do I look like a model everyday, no, because I’m a mum with toddlers.

The pile of laundry didn’t magically go away, the sides still need wiping before I cook but my house is about the same as it was before and we are all happier.

And the children being clean…well it’s much more fun rolling down the grass hills in the rain. that’s what splishy, splashy warm baths are for and cups of hot chocolate!

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