Importance of Self Care

Hermit Goods products on display - two jars of the Himalayan Salt Soak and a Body Brush with two vases of flowers on white background

What is Self Care 

Self-care is just what it sounds like - taking care of yourself. Activities and practices that help take care of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health are all included in the practice of self-care. Self-care can help your body, mind and spirit stay healthy. 

Intentionally investing in your own well-being can have major effects on your happiness, productivity, self-confidence and overall quality of life. Each individual's self-care practice may be very different and unique. It's about knowing yourself and what works best for you. There is no specific way of practicing self-care. As long as you are focusing on yourself and your health - that's what matters! 

Self-care can include things like:

  • Getting enough sleep 
  • Drinking enough water 
  • Exercising or moving your body 
  • Getting fresh air and sunshine
  • Taking care of personal hygiene
  • Eating healthy foods and getting the nutrients you need

Self-care can also go beyond the basics and include other things like:

  • Setting boundaries and practicing saying “no” 
  • Listening to your body and giving it what it needs
  • Positive self-talk and being kind to yourself 
  • Seeking medical attention when needed 
  • Making time to visit with friends and maintaining a healthy social network 
  • Taking time to participate in activities and hobbies you enjoy
  • Finding healthy ways to process your emotions 
  • Journaling, meditating or taking breaks from social media
  • Establishing a healthy work-life balance 
  • Spending meaningful time with family 

Why is Self-Care Important 

We can all agree that taking care of yourself is important! And practicing self-care is exactly that. It can help you feel more relaxed, refreshed and recharged. It can boost your mood, and help you avoid burnout. 

Self-care ensures that your body, mind and spirit are getting what they need to support you and your daily life. It can help you to decompress and feel more energized. The bottom line is that self-care can help you feel better! 

How Self-Care Can Help You 

It’s important to make time to relax and unwind. Having a consistent self-care practice can help you achieve that and regain balance in your life. The benefits of self-care are endless but we’ll try to highlight a few in this article. 

Self-care can help you: 

  • Connect with yourself and others in a more meaningful way
  • Improve physical health and prevent and manage illness 
  • Find meaning and fulfillment in your life 
  • Manage stress and improve mental health
  • Create healthy life-long habits 

Self-Care is Not Selfish

“You can’t pour from an empty cup” 

This saying helps us to understand how self-care can benefit not only ourselves but also the people around us. If we are not adequately taking care of ourselves, we cannot also take care of others. 

Many people believe that practicing self-care is selfish, when in fact it can be just the opposite. If you’ve ever been on an airplane you know that in the case of an accident you should always put your own oxygen mask on before helping others. If you don’t have the oxygen you need, you will not be able to help the other individuals or children around you. In order for us to take care of others, we must first take care of ourselves. 

By maintaining balance in our lives we are able to continue functioning more effectively and efficiently. Making sure you have enough sleep and a healthy lunch can make you more productive at work, while in contrast, overextending yourself and dismissing your own needs may end with errors in your work and major burnout. This is only one example, however, every aspect of your life can be improved when practicing self-care. 

Making time and space for self-care practices can be difficult. When life gets busy, self-care can be put on the back burner. It can be hard to set time aside for yourself. This is why it is important to make self-care a priority. Self-care allows us to recharge and refuel and can have a major impact on the rest of our lives. When we invest in ourselves, we invest in all aspects of our life as well as the other individuals we share our lives with. 

Creating Your Own Self-Care Plan 

Self-care is most effective when it is practiced consistently. With the busyness of life, this isn't always possible but it can help to have a plan in place to keep you on track.  

Some tips and tricks to creating your own self-care plan are: 

Set Goals to Help Create a Habit 

Science says that it takes an average of 66 days to create a new habit. By incorporating certain practices into your life, and by consistently working on them, they can one day become automatic. 

Find out what it is you’d like to incorporate into your life and set a goal to achieve it.

Start Small 

This is very important! Setting new goals and starting new practices can be daunting. It can help to start small. Taking small steps, especially when starting your self-care journey can help you stay motivated and on track. 

Be sure to set small goals that are achievable and won’t overextend you. 

Listen to Your Body and What it Needs 

It is important to check in with yourself to see what you need. Listen to your body. 

  • Do you need more sleep? 
  • Are you hungry?
  • How are you feeling emotionally? 

Knowing how you are feeling and what your body needs can help you identify what self-care practices might help you. This way you can create a plan and goals that align with your specific needs. 

Identify Stressors 

Along with listening to your body, it is important to also identify your stressors. What areas of your life cause you stress? And what actions can you take to help with stress relief?

Designate Time to Focus on Yourself 

Make self-care a priority. Because life is busy, it is easy for self-care to get swept aside. If you are serious about starting a self-care practice it is important to set time aside to focus on yourself and your self-care practice. 

Identify What Helps You

When creating a self-care plan it is important to know what helps you. 

  • What activities bring you joy? 
  • What activities replenish your energy and help you restore balance? 
  • When do you feel relaxed? 

Tailor It

Self-care is not a one-size-fits-all. What works for one person may not work for you. Depending on lifestyle and stressors, self-care plans may need to be adjusted. For example, someone who is overworked at a desk job may benefit from moving their body more, and getting outside for fresh air and sunshine. For an individual who is retired, finding more social engagement may be beneficial.  

How Hermit Can Help 

At Hermit, we believe in the importance of self-care. We strive to create products that will help our customers relax, refresh, and recharge. 

We are a female-founded, Canadian brand. We are committed to creating products that are high quality and ethically made. Our products are always cruelty-free, sustainable, and made with all-natural ingredients.

But we aren’t just about the products! We know how busy and exhausting modern life can be. When creating our products, we always focus on how they can improve our customers' lives. Our products are designed to add moments of self-care into even the busiest of lives. 

Our goal is to elevate moments of alone time and improve our customer's mental health by offering tools to help them rest, relax and recharge.

To browse our products, click HERE 

 

 

Note: If the thought of practicing self-care is overwhelming, you may be dealing with more than simple, daily stress. Mental illness and past trauma can make practicing self-care a much more difficult task. Taking these steps on your own may feel like too much of a challenge, but there is help available.

If you are struggling with your mental health, it is important to reach out for support. 

Mental health support for individuals in Canada:

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