Self-Care Check In

As Thomas S. Monson so beautifully stated, “If you want to give light to others you have to glow yourself”. The metaphor of putting your own mask on before helping another has been used often to highlight the importance of self-care, especially when one is attempting to meet the needs of family members, employers, children, friends, or society in general. 

Self-Care:

Self-care is an action based on love towards the self – it is from the external. By caring for ourselves unapologetically, we get into a deeper level of self-love and become a master of our own lives. It’s attending to yourself by yourself with the mindset that you deserve to be treated like the god/goddess that you really are. It’s spending time and resources to discover yourself, build yourself, and nurture your potentials. It’s scheduling breaks in advance and taking them.

Self-Love:

Self-love is not settling for a life you will not be happy living. It’s a mindset about having inner peace and that no matter your perceived inadequacies you are the best you can ever be and you appreciate you. Self-love is from within and allows you to embrace your strengths and project yourself to new heights. Self-love means that you are not measuring yourself by the standards of the world but on how much better you did each time around. It’s being aware of your limitations and willing to work on it and perhaps with it, because you know that therin lies value.

Examining Stress:

• When we neglect our self-care, stress begins to have an effect on our bodies. Some cognitive signs of stress are an inability to concentrate, anxious or racing thoughts, difficulty in decision making, difficulty learning new information, constant worrying, nightmares, and forgetfulness. Some emotional symptoms of stress include depression, low self-esteem, feeling overwhelmed or like you’re losing control, frequent crying spells, apathy, irritability, and agitation. Physical symptoms include nervousness, weakness, fatigue, aches and tense muscles, nausea, frequent colds, headaches, and insomnia. Last but certainly not least, behavioral symptoms include changes in appetite, sleeping too much/too little, social withdrawal, difficulty communicating, and procrastination.
  
  Self-Care Check In:
  To explore the various areas of self-care and examine areas that might need some more love and focus, I have included a self-care check in and a self-care buddy. When reading each area, take a moment to ask yourself the question, think about how you have self-cared in that area, and then color the area listed. Even if you have not, take a moment to practice thinking about these forms of self-care and enjoy coloring. Whenever you feel overwhelmed or a need to do a self-care check, stop, take a moment, and complete the self-check below. You can also place your self-care buddy in a place you see all the time like the bathroom mirror to remind yourself to take a moment to self-care and self-love.
  

• How have you been practicing self-care today?

  • If you have done something to care for yourself today: mentally, physically, emotionally – color in half of the head of your figure. 

• What do you need right now?

  • Do you need some extra sleep? Do you need something to drink, something to eat? – color in the hands of your figure. 

• How is your body feeling?

  • Are you hot? Cold? Tired? Happy? Calm? – color in the legs of your figure. 

• What boundaries do you need to enforce?

  • Is there conflict with a friend that needs a boundary? Is someone overstepping, impending your self-love? – color in the arms of your figure. 

• Is there anything upsetting or bothering you?

  • Is there something making you upset in this present moment? Go ahead, color it out and let it go just for this present moment until you are ready to address it. – color in the torso of your figure. 

• Have you taken care of your basic needs today?

  • Have you showered? Eaten? Hydrated? Gotten enough sleep? – color in the neck of your figure. 

• How’s your self-talk?

  • Have you been talking down on yourself today or have you been your own personal cheerleader? Have your thoughts been positive or negative? – color in the other half of the head of your figure.