Beginner’s Guide to Self-Care

True self-care is often misunderstood and underrated. Whether you live with a chronic or mental illness, the importance of self care in mental health is undeniable. This Beginner’s Guide to Self-Care will teach you the significance of emotional, physical, and mental self care as well as simple steps to create a self care plan that you can start using today. Learn how to make your own self-care toolkit with the specific self-care activities and strategies that will make a tremendous positive impact in your life.

✅ What Is Self Care?

Simply put, self care is “the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health.” There are three core areas of self care: emotional, physical, and mental self care. You may find others referring to more categories, but these often fall under one of the core types of self care mentioned above.

Read More About the True Meaning of Self-Care . . .

✅ Benefits of Self Care Activities

You may be wondering, why is it important to focus on yourself and isn’t it kind of selfish? I get it. I thought that too when my psychiatrist first introduced me to self care.

I had no idea what the benefits of self-care activities were and how greatly they could impact my life and overall health. Once I was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 Disorder and was recovering from a severe manic episode which required hospitalization, I discovered the importance of self care in mental health.

My recovery required not only the right medications and counseling, but also a solid self-care plan.

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✅ Self Care for Beginners: Steps to a Self-Care Plan

To learn how to start self care, follow these easy steps. The first step you need to do this is to look at what things you are currently doing to practice self care.

Step 1: Assess Your Current Self-Care Activities

Assess which self-care activities you may currently be doing. Think about all of the types of self-care activities – physical, mental, and emotional. If you are like me, you probably need a deeper explanation of the categories of self-care. Read What is Self Care and Why Is it Important: Self-Care for Beginners. This post explains in detail what is physical self-care, emotional self-care, and mental self-care as well as activities for each type.

I have created a self-care ideas worksheet (physical, mental, and emotional) and assessment. You can download it by signing up to become a subscriber and you will receive the password for our Free Resource Library. SEND ME THE PASSWORD!

Step 2: Create a Self-Care Action Plan

To create a self-care action plan, decide what activities and strategies you will incorporate into your daily life.

You can start by creating a daily self-care checklist. Write out which activities you will do from each category of self–care. (Or you can just download the one I created for you from our Resource Library.)

Start with a small list of things you will do for yourself and then you can add self-care activities as you go.

Read more about steps to a self-care plan and creating a plan of action in this post in the Self-Care Series I created.

Step 3: Set Self-Care Goals and Commit to Them

When you are setting your self-care goals, be practical. Don’t try to incorporate every self-care activity or strategy that you learn. You are more likely to achieve small goals consistently.

You may feel like you need a total life makeover, but you are more likely to experience the benefits of self care if you start with a few new activities at a time. Choose a few to add to your daily routine. After you have being accomplishing these for a week, then add a few more. Then once you have reached a month’s time and these activities have become a habit, set bigger goals.

My biggest piece of advice is don’t go overboard. Small and persistent actions will give you more permanent results.

Read More About How to Create a Self-Care Plan . . .

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✅ Make Your Own Self-Care Toolkit

Part of your self-care toolkit will include your self-care action plan, worksheets, and checklists. You can even create a self-care binder to organize and keep track of your goals and progress. There are many free printable self-care worksheets in my Resource Library.

But another part of your self-care toolbox will be comfort items and products for healthy living. Items that are required to do the self-care activities and use the self-care strategies that are part of your plan.

Some items in my self-care toolkit are:

• Adult coloring books and colored pencils
• Comfy fuzzy robe and socks
• Essential oils (lavender for sleep and peppermint for energy)
• Meditation App (I love Headspace)
• Affirmations (You can download some from my Free Resource Library)
• Coping Strategies for Negative Self-Talk
• Journal
• Thought record (Resource Library)
• My Chronic Illness Warrior Playlist
• Encouraging Quotes for Strength and Hope
• A vision board of my goals and dreams I want to pursue

Read More About Creating a Self-Care Toolkit . . .

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✅ How to Achieve Ultimate Self-Care Benefits

If all of these self-care tips and ideas overwhelm you . . .

Just. Start. Simple.

In group therapy (while recovering from my manic episode), I learned to choose 3 self-care activities I would do each day. In the beginning, I would write things down like eat a vegetable and a fruit, shower, read a book to my kids. Seriously, I had to start with very basic self–care activities.

So, don’t beat yourself up. Just start wherever you are now. Build slowly but steadily from there.

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For a more in-depth look at Self-Care, read my Self-Care Series

• [SELF CARE SERIES PART 1]: What is Self Care and Why Is it Important: Self-Care for Beginners
• [SELF CARE SERIES PART 2]: How to Start Self-Care: 7 Simple Steps to Create a Self-care Plan
• [SELF CARE SERIES PART 3]: Make Your Own Self-Care Toolkit and Absolutely Rock Your Mental Health

Get your FREE Self-Care Starter Kit as a gift when you sign up to receive the super-secret password for my Resource Library!

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