By Elliana Nath
Sometimes you may think of self care as expensive forms of treating yourself, like setting up a spa appointment for a professional to give you a facial or a full-body massage. Of course, these are great ways to care for yourself, but they are not practical or affordable for everyone — and certainly are not the only forms of self care out there. Self care does NOT require an exorbitant amount of money, nor do you have to do anything too big or out of the “ordinary.” Sometimes self care can be the smallest, most ordinary things, actually…
Many people who suffer from depression, severe anxiety, or other disorders, find it difficult to take care of themselves in some of the most basic ways. Sometimes self care can mean keeping up with these most basic forms of hygiene and fulfillment of physiological needs. A few simple examples of self care include the following:
Hygeine
➔ Showering
➔ Washing & brushing one’s hair
➔ Taking care of one’s nails
➔ Brushing one’s teeth
Sleep/Diet
➔ Allowing oneself adequate sleep (8–10 hours per night)
➔ Eating the right amount for one’s nutritional needs
➔ Properly hydrating (drinking water)
Self care can look a lot of different ways for different people, depending on their mental, emotional, physical, and other needs in life. Depending on your situation, a very simple form of self care may be the exact thing you need.
If you have ever taken a psychology class, you may have been introduced to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, or maybe have heard of it in passing. Maslow proposed that a person’s most basic needs should be fulfilled first, before more complicated needs are attended to, in order to reach self actualization — or what can be simplified to happiness and satisfaction.
While Maslow was not necessarily theorizing about self care in particular, his most basic premise also applies to self care: before you fulfill complicated needs, you must first fulfill the simplest, most necessary ones. In this way, it is important to take care of your hygiene and physiological needs before you start more complicated forms of self care, which might require more money, commitment, or effort. While the most basic forms of self care can take a bit of
money, commitment, or effort, they are often the most important. Giving yourself a strong foundation to build on (sufficient sleep, nutrition, clean hair, brushed teeth, etc.), it can be much easier to attend to your other needs — once the most basic ones have been fulfilled.