We all become very overwhelmed by work, responsibilities and obligations that seem to accumulate faster as the academic year progresses. Constantly dedicating our time to further ourselves is a full time commitment, and in turn, we often make numerous self-sacrifices. It is no secret that we often skip the gym, ignore our hunger and neglect our friends in an attempt to stressfully manage our commitments.
However, when we continuously sacrifice our own well-being, it can become rather destructive. It will only make our functionality worse and ineffective yet we often neglect self-care as we assume it does not contribute anything directly valuable to our professional lives.
With that, many people assume that practicing self-care is some sort of luxury only a few privileged get to experience. People are so often preoccupied with their own responsibilities, finding the time is seemingly impossible. At a time when stress is high, and demand for timely organization is tremendous, self-care is actually crucial. Self-care is not an unreachable luxury, but a basic necessity. Taking a few moments out of your day to cater to yourself helps you avoid exhaustive burnout, helps you maintain your focus and helps buffer the negative effects of stress.
Though activities people engage in differ, they are universally acknowledged as a collection of therapeutic experiences that cater to the mind, body and soul.
“I would define self-care and self-love as any activity that you do to enhance your self worth and happiness,” says Shervin Forootan, 4th year Honours Psychology student.
He asserts that snowboarding has been his favourite activity when it comes to self-care. “It is like energized focus, a complete involvement and full enjoyment of it. It is a complete immersion of yourself in the experience.”
Clearly, an important aspect of self-care is physical maintenance, but there is more depth to it. The problem is that people undermine the significance of emotional maintenance because it is much easier to dismiss, and neglect. We are more likely to take initiative when responding to our physical needs and goals, but often fail to practice psychological maintenance. During high stress times, we are likely to exhibit intense emotions such as anger, sadness, stress and anxiety. Addressing these negative emotions is crucial to maintaining psychological health. Kimya Shahi, added similar thoughts, “To me, self-care is recognizing my mind’s needs, and responding to feelings of discomfort accordingly.” Likewise, recognizing you mental and emotional state gives yourself the opportunity to reflect, and to think more logically.
Self-care also revolves around recognizing your own priorities. “And If I’m pushing my limits academically/socially, I recognize that my health and well-being is worth more than trying to accomplish a certain goal. Self-care for me isn’t always just having a good rest, or having a full stomach. Self-care is choosing to do what I want to at a certain point of time,” Kimya adds.
It is important to clarify that self-care must be incorporated into your daily schedule. To reiterate, it is imperative that we not only embrace doing what is expected or obligated to do, but what we want to do that will give us satisfaction, fulfillment and meaning.
The utmost important message is that self-care is essential to one’s own effective daily functioning in all aspects – physically, mentally and emotionally. Though we constantly strive to exceed our expectations professionally, we must not dismiss our current worth. It is in our own best interest to cater to ourselves so we can find true meaningful depth in our lives.
