Self-care and Happiness: Family
- What is self-care?
Have you paid it forward to yourself? Self-care is the key to living a balanced life. Self-care
is an activity that people do in order to take care of ourselves. It takes care
of our mental, emotional and physical health. Most importantly it brings you
happiness. Although it can sound very simple to do, most people often overlook these
activities, which lead to having trouble functioning mentally, emotionally, and
physically. By practicing self-care, you can take care and honor your body,
mind, and spirit in a way that activates your best self. Many people confuse
what self-care is and is not. Self-care is not something that we force
ourselves to do or something that we do not enjoy doing; self-care is
something that refuels us, rather than takes from us. Also, people sometimes
think of self-care as a selfish act. On the contrary, it is not selfish because
if we are not mentally, emotionally, or physically healthy we are not able to
help others that we love or need to take care of.
- What is Happiness?
Happiness is defined as a state of feeling or
showing pleasure or contentment. It plays a very important role in our lives
and can have an impact on the ways that we live our lives. That is why it is
important to practice self-care activities in order to be happy and live our
lives happy.
- How to start self-care activities?
There are many ways that you can start and
commit to self-care activities.
- It is important to stick to your basic rhythm and routines.
- Self-care needs to be something that you plan, rather than something that happens all of a sudden. It is an active choice, and you must treat it as one. A way to commit to self-care activities, add them to your calendar, tell people about it makes it more of a commitment, and most importantly, look for opportunities to practice them.
- Last and most important, if you do not see something as self-care or do not do something in order to take care of yourself, it will not work as self-care. Know what you do and why you do it.
- Basic self-care activities that people can practice:
There are many activities you can do to practice
self-care, here are some that you can exercise into your daily lifestyle:
1. Eating Healthier: Eating
healthier on a daily basis can benefit you in many ways, mostly physically. Instead
of eating fattening foods that you would usually eat, eat something healthier. For
example, instead of eating a bag of chips as a snack, have some fruit. It may
be hard at first, but if you can make a habit out of it, you can benefit greatly.
2. Getting Enough Sleep: Getting
enough sleep is very important. By getting enough sleep you are able to be
active throughout the day. Adults usually need to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep each
night.
3. Exercise: Although many
people may not realize it, exercise does not only benefit your physical health,
but it can also benefit your emotional health. Exercise increases our serotonin
level, which leads to improved moods and energy. However, if you are using exercise
as a self-care activity it should be something that you like to do; for
example, I like playing basketball, so that is what I would use as a self-care
activity for exercise.
4. Relaxation Exercises: You
can use relaxation exercises to practice self-care. You can also use meditation
as a relaxation exercise. This can be done at any time of the day.
5. Relaxing Activity: Whether
it is going for a walk, or just winding down, take at least 30 minutes in your
day to do something relaxing.
6. Pleasurable Activity: Try
and do something pleasurable every day, something that you enjoy doing.
Watching a movie, cooking, or even going out with your friends can be
considered a pleasurable activity.
7. Laugh: Make sure to laugh! Laughing
is great for your heart, as well as, your emotions.
8. Spend Time with your FAMILY:
Spending time with your loved ones is an amazing way to benefit your self-care.
Spending time with your family does not only benefit you, but it benefits
everyone in the family. Love and happiness are the most important parts of self-care.
- Self-care for Families:
Being a parent is very
hard work, therefore, without consistent self-care parents can easily and
quickly burn out. If someone is stressed out in the family for not consistently
giving themselves self-care, it can make things hard for everyone. Making self-care
a priority can benefit everyone in the family, not just yourself. Always
think about the oxygen mask analogy that you hear when you go on a plane. When
you go on a plane and they are going over the safety procedures, they tell you
to put your oxygen mask first before helping your children or others. Why? They
say that because if you are not oxygenated and something happens to you, you
will not be able to aid or care for your child or loved one. It goes the same
way with self-care, if you are not mentally, physically, or emotionally healthy,
it is hard to aid or care for your children or loved ones. Therefore, it is
extremely important if you are part of a family that you practice self-care on
a daily basis.
- In what ways can self-care benefit a family?
Self- care can benefit
your family in many ways. It can give you a more happy time with the family.
You are able to be better at tasks that involve helping others in the family,
for example, if someone in your family is ill and you are healthy, you will be
able to give them all the care and aid they need. You are able to enjoy
the time you spend with your family without being stressed. Most importantly
you are more physically, mentally, and emotionally able to deal with life’s
pressures and stresses.
😃 SELF-CARE & FAMILY = HAPPINESS 😃
BY: RYAN FERRER
