What it truly means to care for yourself
The new school year brings with it an array of feelings and emotions. Enter excitement, anticipation, joy, and with them — perhaps just as predominantly — nervousness, stress, anxiety, depression, and more. It is important to take time for yourself, listen to your body, and seek out help if you need it.
But we have a problem here in 2018. The term ‘self-care’ has become synonymous with taking a bubble bath and treating yourself to ice cream or a manicure. While these are all great activities that may work as a stress reliever for many people, this exploitive marketing trend is simply another manifestation of modern-day capitalism.
Big corporations target vulnerable spots in our society to maximize their profit margins. This is a part of our reality that will not change in the near future, so we need to individually bring awareness to this important issue. We need to recognize that the self-care that is sold in stores is just another marketing strategy, and re-evaluate what self-care really means to us.
Self-care is incredibly important, and because of this we should be consciously and actively incorporating it into our everyday lives.The purpose of self-care is to keep a happy and healthy mindset, and make our mental health our primary priority. We must repeatedly remind ourselves that our mental health matters. When our mental health isn’t in check, everything else in our lives becomes much harder.
Self-care can manifest itself as a shopping spree, but it can also mean taking a nap, watching a show, booking an appointment with a therapist, or saying no to an outing with friends. It can mean so many different things, but it always means doing what works best for you, and not what corporations try and sell you to help you ‘relax.’
It is also important to understand that other people don’t have to agree with or understand your methods of self-care. What might be unhelpful for someone else, may be exactly what you need to keep a healthy headspace.
Take time to think about what self-care means to you, and then implement it in your daily schedule. It’ll make a world of a difference.
Have a happy and healthy school year, Gryphons — and remember to be kind to yourselves.
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