Self-Care
In our culture, we know that in order to drive cross country, we must take care of our car. We need to pull over in order to refuel and must monitor the oil, temperature, tires and overall mechanics. If something goes wrong, we need to address it or we will be stuck on the side of the road. Self-care requires that we pay attention to ourselves in much the same way.
Good self-care is one of the best ways you can buffer yourself from the impact of stress. Knowing what nourishes and refuels you is powerful wisdom especially if you incorporate daily practices to rest and refuel even as you attend to your other responsibilities.
One way to evaluate your current self-care and incorporate new activities is to think of yourself as consisting of physical, mental, emotional/social and spiritual aspects. There are self-care practices within each realm.
Physical self-care
Requires we examine the type of diet we have, the amount of exercise we engage in, the amount of sleep we get, the chemicals we consume (caffeine, alcohol and other drugs). Physical self-care also includes any relaxation practices we have such as mindfulness, breathing exercises, guided imagery, yoga or dance.