Once you evaluate what areas of your self-care need some attention, here are some simple things you can do to help.
Self-care involves doing activities that may improve your wellbeing and health – mentally, physically and emotionally. Ignoring your own needs can snowball and can create more problems later. If you keep ignoring those signals, something may happen in your life to force you stop and pay attention. It can range joint aches and pains, fatigue, hair thinning and weight challenges to more severe conditions like a cardiovascular event or cancer diagnosis.
What is self-care? It is taking the time to do what is most important for your mental health, physical health, emotional health and overall well-being. If you take care of yourself, you can be more present in your life by being the best version of you, better able to help others and focus on the things that you need to do more efficiently.
Self-care is not selfish, it is simply being more self-resilient – able to be self-reliant, use your own resources and power to focus on what is most important: You. Being selfish, on the other hand, puts your own needs first without regard for how it might affect others.
There are four areas of self-care that need to be addressed:
- Physical Aspect: body awareness of symptoms you are experiencing, such as increased heart rate, stress, body aches and pains, energy levels or sleep.
- Emotional Aspect: feelings of fears, sadness, anxiety, laughter, tears or stress and how they are affecting your life.
- Spiritual Aspect: connection with your higher power, your life’s purpose, connection with nature or spiritual beliefs that serve you.
- Mental/Mind Aspects: what are the dominant thoughts that you have on a day-to-day basis? Is your mind racing at night and you are unable to sleep restfully? Thoughts are powerful. Take the time to evaluate whether they are serving you.
Once you evaluate what areas of your self-care need some attention, here are some simple things you can do to help.
Physical Aspect – Make that appointment that you have been putting off, such as wellness exams, pap, blood work, colonoscopy, prostate check, cardiac workup, mammogram or eye/ hearing exams. These are particularly important to continue on a yearly basis especially if you are doing hormone replacement. DO NOT NEGLECT YOUR HEALTH!
Emotional Aspect – Don’t ignore your feelings. Try journaling to get your thoughts out and help you process things. Seeing a therapist may also help. The important thing is to be self-aware in recognizing why you may be feeling a certain way by life events and finding a provider who may help you navigate through things. Acupuncture may help with mood by creating balance in the body, releasing natural endorphins and regulating hormones. Also getting a blood test may also help discover underlying vitamin deficiencies or thyroid imbalances that may be the cause.
Spiritual Aspect – Spirituality doesn’t necessarily mean you have to belong to a certain religion to be spiritual. It is your connection to the divine source, universe, God or nature. Simply taking time to walk in nature can be good for your soul and spirituality. Reading inspiring words and stories may also help. Meditation and prayer are other ways to connect to your spirit.
Mental Aspect – If you are bombarded by worrisome thoughts, have negative thoughts that keep ruminating or are saying negative things to yourself, take time to evaluate them and take steps to change your thinking. A simple exercise is to write out all of your dominate thoughts, which I like to call ANTs – annoying negative thoughts – and change them to positive affirmations. When the ANT comes up, squash it by stating the positive affirmation three times daily for 21 days. It takes 21 days to change the neural pathways in the brain, changing the negative thoughts into positive ones that serve you. Another way to deal with any worries or thoughts that prevent you from sleeping is to do a brain dump before bed. Write out all the things that you need to do. That way they are out of your head and you don’t have to think about them at night. Meditation can also be helpful to quiet the mind chatter. There are several apps you can try that are guided or unguided with music to help you relax.
I cannot emphasize enough the value of giving yourself the gift of self-care. It is so important to take care of yourself in every aspect to fully enjoy life and make sure you are able to maintain optimal health in mind, body and spirit. This allows you to be the best version of you so you can have the energy, mindset and physical ability to do what you need to do to be successful and to be there for others. FBN
By Christina Kovalik
Dr. Christina Kovalik NMD, LAc, The Vitality Doctor, is a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist specializing in hormone optimization, optimal health and vitality. She is a new Flagstaff resident, practicing since 2004, and opened her second location in Doney Park in 2020. For more information, visit thevitalitydoctor.com or call 928-863-6086.
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