Back to: Caregiving and Self-Care
Self-care, (or self-maintenance : ) will mean different things to different people. Coach Rebecca shares her story: “When I was taking care of my son who had a chronic illness, people kept telling me I needed a vacation, or that I should go to a yoga class or get a massage. None of this was accessible to me – we didn’t have any money to spare and we couldn’t really leave my son with a sitter. So I decided I needed to define what self-care meant for me. For me, it meant cooking and eating nutritious meals, having my house uncluttered, reading a book before bed, and spending quality time with my kids and husband. Cooking and cleaning are not usually thought of as ‘self-care!’ Yet this is what made me feel better, so I came to define self-care as setting aside time to attend to the things that are most important to me.” When deciding what type of self-care works for you, consider:
- What makes you feel good?
- What is accessible to you?
- How can you fit this into your routine?
It might feel (#1) great to order take-out for dinner every night, yet it might not be affordable (#2). But maybe take-out can work one day a week, and having some meals prepped and frozen for the times when you’re too tired to cook can be a lower-cost alternative.