Healthy Habits: What Does Taking Care Of Yourself Mean?

Self-care may be a hot topic, but it can also be a misunderstood concept. Taking care of yourself can be essential, and developing healthy habits is often an excellent way to keep up with regular self-care. Getting plenty of sleep, exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, spending time with friends and family, and engaging with hobbies can be several ways to take care of yourself. Going to online or in-person therapy sessions can also be a great way to learn about yourself and address any difficulties you may be experiencing so that you can enjoy good mental health.

The essentials of self-care

Although self-care can be essential to a happy and healthy life, it doesn’t always come naturally to many people. One of the most important aspects of learning how to take care of yourself can be recognizing that it typically requires a conscious effort to improve.

In many situations, taking care of yourself involves looking after both your physical and mental well-being, which can be closely related. Self-care habits usually involve things you can create a routine for and do on a very consistent basis. It’s generally best to ensure that your goals are realistic and possible to maintain. The best routine may be the one that you can be consistent with, even if it’s very simple.

Another essential of self-care can be recognizing that while people can branch out and do anything they please when practicing self-care, we should generally stick to the basics with our routines. This can include eating well, getting regular physical activity, and avoiding harmful substances.

If you are struggling with substance use, contact the SAMHSA National Helpline at (800) 662-4357 to receive support and resources. Support is available 24/7.

Read on to discover several healthy habits you may implement to begin taking better care of yourself.

Eating healthily

Paying attention to what you eat may be one of the first things you can do to start taking good care of yourself, but it will likely take some amount of effort and commitment to get used to.

This is because people can become accustomed to consuming foods loaded with fats and sugars that taste good. While foods like these often provide a temporary boost of energy through an insulin spike and give a sense of emotional relief, they can also cause you to crash, and they can even be addictive. In addition, they usually have little to no nutritional value.

Instead, people should generally make an effort to create a diet filled with nutritious food, such as fresh fruits and vegetables. There tends to be a close tie between the nutritional value of the food you eat and your mental well-being. Healthy foods can also help people maintain a healthy weight and provide them with the energy they need to go about their daily responsibilities and exercise routines. 

Committing to a healthy and balanced diet will normally require planning and preparation, but with time, it will likely become more natural to shop and cook. You may notice the physical and mental benefits of eating foods that help you in the short and long term, like improving body image issues or preventing chronic illnesses related to an unhealthy diet.

Exercising regularly

Along with a healthy diet, exercise may be one of the first activities that people adopt into their lives when they are consciously looking for ways to start taking care of themselves.

Eating healthy and working out often go hand in hand because they can help you achieve some of the same goals, such as weight management and body image improvement, along with positive changes in your mental health.

Exercise typically has several benefits for a person’s overall health. As a general rule, it can be excellent to find a way to include physical activity in your daily routine.

There may be many options people can choose from and enjoy, such as walking, dancing, weightlifting, yoga, and more. People can take advantage of the benefits of exercise by engaging at any level of intensity. It may be helpful to try a variety of options until you find one that is fun and rewarding for you.

However, like dieting, starting an exercise routine can be challenging for people who have been leading a sedentary life and don’t move around often, and it might be uncomfortable at first.

However, your body can adapt. You may notice positive changes, such as increased strength, improved endurance, or enhanced energy, which can create the drive you may need to stick to a regular fitness routine.

Getting enough sleep

In general, you need sleep to repair your mind and body, and if you don’t get enough of it, physical and psychological problems can develop. For example, you’ve probably experienced feeling cranky after not getting enough sleep the previous night, and you may have struggled to complete tasks throughout the day.

It can be very common for people to neglect sleep in favor of doing other things. Some live with chronic sleep debt, which can contribute to stress, anxiety, and depression. On top of that, losing sleep can make you feel more irritable and make it challenging to get things done. 

Mental health issues can prevent people from getting the sleep that they need. For that reason, people often need to make a serious effort to improve their sleep quality when it comes to the treatment of anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns.

The strategies above (regular exercise and nutritious food) can help people sleep better, but people will also likely need to manage their time more efficiently and make sleep a priority. This generally means sticking to bedtime to give them the best chance to get seven to nine hours of sleep every night.

Making time for your loved ones

While it can be completely normal to be introverted or prefer spending time doing things on your own, it can also be essential to try setting aside time to spend with your friends and family, even if it’s just a weekly occurrence.

Humans tend to be inherently social creatures, and people often yearn for interaction. It can be natural to experience negative feelings like loneliness when not talking with others, especially those you care about most.

Like the other self-care ideas listed in this article, social interaction is frequently impacted by life’s responsibilities, and people may forgo it entirely because of responsibilities at work or school.

Even those living with their families might struggle to make quality time for their loved ones, and resolving this often involves effective time management skills.

You may need to make your friends and family a priority alongside your other obligations. While you don’t necessarily need to do something together every single day, finding some time for the people you care about can make a significant difference in your mental health by maintaining your relationships and being an outlet for your feelings and emotions.

Doing activities you find enjoyable

Staying on the topic of emotional outlets, and taking care of yourself can also involve participating in things that interest you.

After all, this can be the whole meaning of self-care, and you should be able to enjoy hobbies and make new experiences for yourself. Even cooking healthy food and exercising can become passions for people who include them in a routine after a while.

Whether it’s finding entertainment through various means, practicing art or a musical instrument, becoming a better cook, or sitting down and reading a book, hobbies should generally enhance your life.

At the same time, you should also try to avoid things that can take away from your life and might impact you negatively. Try to keep in mind that it’s acceptable to say “no,” and you can set times when you don’t want to be bothered. If you’ve already worked hard for many days in a week, and you’ve earned a weekend to yourself, it should be entirely up to you how you’d like to spend your time.

You aren’t obligated to be productive around the clock, and you don’t have to answer phone calls and emails after a certain time, especially during your time off or while spending it with your friends and family. Putting healthy boundaries in place can be helpful.

If you need to rest and recharge, you can also say no to social activities, especially if they’re activities you’d be attending out of obligation and not genuine desire.

Seeking professional help

While the self-care strategies above are generally things you can start immediately, it can be normal not to have all the answers and solutions to the issues you might run into.

Therapy can be a valuable resource for people looking to take care of themselves because it often provides them with the skills they may need to cope with the challenges they face each day. Plus, speaking with an unbiased professional can provide you with helpful insight and guidance.

Benefits of online therapy

While many enjoy attending therapy sessions in person, online therapy has generally been growing in popularity. If you’re looking for a form of self-care that’s simple to fit into your existing schedule, online therapy may be an excellent choice. You can attend sessions from home and schedule them at times that fall outside of typical office hours.

Effectiveness of online therapy

A growing body of research suggests that online therapy is generally just as effective as traditional in-office therapy. Whether you’d like to talk about healthy habits or address a possible mental health condition, online therapy may provide the care you deserve.