Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsPhysical Self-CareSocial Self-CareMental Self-CareSpiritual Self-CareEmotional Self-CareWhy Is Self-Care Important?Develop Your Self-Care PlanNext in How Stress Impacts Your Health GuideHow to Become More Mindful in Your Everyday Life
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Physical Self-Care
Social Self-Care
Mental Self-Care
Spiritual Self-Care
Emotional Self-Care
Why Is Self-Care Important?
Develop Your Self-Care Plan
Next in How Stress Impacts Your Health Guide
Close
All thestress-relief activitiesin the world won’t help if we aren’t taking care of ourselves. Self-care has been defined as “a multidimensional, multifaceted process of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being.“In simpler terms, self-care is all about caring for yourself—as the name suggests—to ensure your physical and emotional needs are met.
Self-care is important because it helps re-establish balance and avoid burnout. It is often the mechanism of recalibrating and getting in touch with our ability to play, have fun, relax, and connect.—SABRINA ROMANOFF, PSYD
Self-care is important because it helps re-establish balance and avoid burnout. It is often the mechanism of recalibrating and getting in touch with our ability to play, have fun, relax, and connect.
—SABRINA ROMANOFF, PSYD
Good self-care can take on many forms. It could be ensuring we get enough sleep every night or stepping outside for a few minutes for some fresh air. It can also mean taking the time to do what we enjoy.
Sometimes, you might need more self-care in one specific area to restore balance or find relief from a stressor in your life. To care for your health and well-being, it’s important to find a balance that allows you to address each of these areas.
At a GlanceSelf-care is a conscious act people take to promote their physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health. It is vital for building resilience toward life’sstressorsthat we can’t eliminate. When you’ve taken steps to care for your mind and body, you’ll be better equipped to live your best life.Unfortunately, however, many of us view self-care as a luxury rather than a priority. Consequently, we’re left feeling overwhelmed, tired, and ill-equipped to handle life’s inevitable challenges. It’s important to assess how you’re caring for yourself in several different domains so you can ensure you’re caring for your mind, body, and spirit.
At a Glance
Self-care is a conscious act people take to promote their physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health. It is vital for building resilience toward life’sstressorsthat we can’t eliminate. When you’ve taken steps to care for your mind and body, you’ll be better equipped to live your best life.Unfortunately, however, many of us view self-care as a luxury rather than a priority. Consequently, we’re left feeling overwhelmed, tired, and ill-equipped to handle life’s inevitable challenges. It’s important to assess how you’re caring for yourself in several different domains so you can ensure you’re caring for your mind, body, and spirit.
Self-care is a conscious act people take to promote their physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health. It is vital for building resilience toward life’sstressorsthat we can’t eliminate. When you’ve taken steps to care for your mind and body, you’ll be better equipped to live your best life.
Unfortunately, however, many of us view self-care as a luxury rather than a priority. Consequently, we’re left feeling overwhelmed, tired, and ill-equipped to handle life’s inevitable challenges. It’s important to assess how you’re caring for yourself in several different domains so you can ensure you’re caring for your mind, body, and spirit.
NickyLloyd / Getty Images
“This Is Us” Star Chrissy Metz on Work-Life Balance
We need to take care of our bodies if we want them to run efficiently. Remember that there’s a strong connection between our body and our mind. When we care for our bodies, we’ll think and feel better, too.
Physical self-care includes fueling your body, getting enough sleep, doing enough physical activity, and caring for your physical needs. Attending healthcare appointments, taking medication as prescribed, and managing your health are all part of good physical self-care.
“Exercise is a tangible instance where you can observe the payoff of your perseverance towards a goal,” says clinical psychologist Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD. “You can push past the limitations of your mind and prove to yourself you may be stronger than you previously thought. This is one of the ways exercise helps with confidence and resilience.”
When it comes to physical self-care, ask yourself the following questions to assess whether there might be some areas you need to improve:Are you getting adequate sleep?Is your diet fueling your body well?Are you taking charge of your health?Are you getting enough exercise?
When it comes to physical self-care, ask yourself the following questions to assess whether there might be some areas you need to improve:
Socialization is key to self-care. But, often, it’s hard to make time for friends, and it can be easy to neglect our relationships when life gets busy.
Close connections are important to your well-being. The best way to cultivate and maintain close relationships is to put time and energy intobuilding our relationshipswith others.
There isn’t a certain number of hours you should devote to your friends or work on your relationships. Everyone has slightly different social needs. The key is to figure out what your social needs are and to build enough time in your schedule to create an optimal social life.
To assess your social self-care, consider:Are you getting enough face-to-face time with your friends?What are you doing to nurture your relationships with friends and family?
To assess your social self-care, consider:
The way we think and the things that we’re filling our minds with greatly influence our psychological well-being.
Mental self-careincludes doing things that keep your mind sharp, like puzzles or learning about a subject that fascinates you. You might find reading books or watching inspiring movies fuel your mind.
Mental self-care also involves doing things that help you stay mentally healthy. Practicingself-compassionand acceptance, for example, helps you maintain a healthier inner dialogue.
Here are a couple of questions to consider when you think about your mental self-care:Are you making enough time for activities that mentally stimulate you?Are you doing proactive things to help you stay mentally healthy?
Here are a couple of questions to consider when you think about your mental self-care:
The Best Mental Health Apps, Tried and Tested
Research shows that a lifestyle includingreligion or spiritualityis generally a healthier lifestyle.
Nurturing your spirit, however, doesn’t have to involve religion. It can involve anything that helps you develop a deeper sense of meaning, understanding, or connection with the universe.
Whether you enjoy meditation, attending a religious service, or praying, spiritual self-care is essential.
As you consider your spiritual life, ask yourself:What questions do you ask yourself about your life and experience?Are you engaging in spiritual practices that you find fulfilling?
As you consider your spiritual life, ask yourself:
It’s important to havehealthy coping skillsto deal withuncomfortable emotions, like anger, anxiety, and sadness. Emotional self-care may include activities that help us acknowledge and express our feelings regularly and safely.
Whether you talk to a partner or close friend about how you feel, or you set aside time for leisure activities that help you process your emotions, it’s important to incorporate emotional self-care into your life.
When assessing your emotional self-care strategies, consider these questions:Do you have healthy ways to process your emotions?Do you incorporate activities into your life that help you feel recharged?
When assessing your emotional self-care strategies, consider these questions:
Having an effective self-care routine has been shown to have a number of important health benefits. Some of these include:
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), self-care is important because it can help promote health, prevent disease, and help people better cope with illness.
Specific forms of self-care have also been linked to different health and wellness benefits, including a longer life. Exercise,finding a sense of purpose in life, and sleep have all been connected to an increased lifespan.
Assess which areas of your life need some more attention and self-care. And reassess your life often. As your situation changes, your self-care needs are likely to shift too.
As you are building your self-care plan, the following steps can be helpful:
Press Play for Advice on Being Human
Keep in Mind
The demands of your daily life can dictate what type of self-care you might need the most. A self-care plan for a busy college student who feels mentally stimulated all the time and has a bustling social life might need to emphasize physical self-care. A retired person, on the other hand, may need to incorporate more social self-care into their schedule to make sure that their social needs are being met.
Self-care isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy. Your self-care plan will need to be customized to your needs and what is currently going on in your life. You don’t want to wait until you’ve reached your breaking point. The goal is to take steps each day to make sure that you are getting what you need to deal with the stress and challenges you face in your daily life.
If you or a loved one are struggling with a mental health condition, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
If you or a loved one are struggling with a mental health condition, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
Mental Health in the Workplace Webinar
14 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Dorociak KE, Rupert PA, Bryant FB, Zahniser E.Development of a self-care assessment for psychologists.Journal of Counseling Psychology. 2017;64(3):325-334. doi:10.1037/cou0000206https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000206
American Psychological Association.2015 Stress in America.
Harandi TF, Taghinasab MM, Nayeri TD.The correlation of social support with mental health: A meta-analysis.Electron Physician. 2017;9(9):5212-5222. doi:10.19082/5212
Pillai JA, Hall CB, Dickson DW, Buschke H, Lipton RB, Verghese J.Association of crossword puzzle participation with memory decline in persons who develop dementia.J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2011;17(6):1006-13. doi: 10.1017/S1355617711001111
Peres MFP, Kamei HH, Tobo PR, Lucchetti G.Mechanisms behind religiosity and spirituality’s effect on mental health, quality of life and well-being.J Relig Health. 2018;57(5):1842-1855. doi:10.1007/s10943-017-0400-6
Koenig HG.Religion, spirituality, and health: A review and update.Adv Mind Body Med. 2015;29(3):19-26.
Izard CE.Emotion theory and research: Highlights, unanswered questions, and emerging issues.Annu Rev Psychol. 2009;60:1-25. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163539
Pilkington K, Wieland LS.Self-care for anxiety and depression: a comparison of evidence from Cochrane reviews and practice to inform decision-making and priority-setting.BMC Complement Med Ther. 2020;20(1):247. doi:10.1186/s12906-020-03038-8
Ayala EE, Winseman JS, Johnsen RD, Mason HRC.U.S. medical students who engage in self-care report less stress and higher quality of life.BMC Med Educ. 2018;18(1):189. doi:10.1186/s12909-018-1296-x
Monroe C, Loresto F, Horton-Deutsch S, et al.The value of intentional self-care practices: The effects of mindfulness on improving job satisfaction, teamwork, and workplace environments.Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2021;35(2):189-194. doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2020.10.003
Saint-Maurice PF, Coughlan D, Kelly SP, et al.Association of leisure-time physical activity across the adult life course with all-cause and cause-specific mortality.JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(3):e190355. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.0355
Alimujiang A, Wiensch A, Boss J, et al.Association between life purpose and mortality among us adults older than 50 years.JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(5):e194270. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4270
Yin J, Jin X, Shan Z, Li S, Huang H, Li P, Peng X, Peng Z, Yu K, Bao W, Yang W, Chen X, Liu L.Relationship of sleep duration with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.J Am Heart Assoc. 2017;6(9):e005947. doi:10.1161/JAHA.117.005947.
Meet Our Review Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit
What is your feedback?
