Self-Care 101: A Guide to Taking Care of Yourself

In this episode Loni, Eryn, Montana, and Josh explore the different kinds of self-care, the strategies behind them, and how to shape them before, after, and during the school year!

Transcript

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Hi there everyone. It's Lonnie. Thank you for tuning in to get with the grove podcast, where we guide you through the exciting journey of life, exploring a variety of amazing topics along the way. Today, I'll be your hosts, and the other amazing individuals that are joining me today are Aaron Montana and Josh. The topic that we will be covering is self care. 101, A Guide to taking care of yourself. We created this podcast to launch just before the big transition into back to school season in September. Our goal is to remind everyone of the critical importance of taking care of your well being during this busy time. In this episode, we will cover an explanation of self care and why self care is crucial for mental, physical and emotional well being, while also giving real life examples and stories. Self Care refers to activities and practices that individuals engage in to maintain and enhance their physical, mental and emotional well being. It involves prioritizing your own needs and health to foster resilience and prevent burnout. Therefore self care will look different for everyone. It could be as simple as going for a walk, taking a shower or participating in mindfulness, whatever it is, will look different for every person. In summary, self care is essential for maintaining balance and well being in our fast paced world, by prioritizing self care, you empower yourself to live a healthier, more fulfilling life. Therefore, I want to ask everyone the question, What is your favorite way to practice self care? Hmm, I love to read and also taking alone time, especially in this line of work, I think it's really important to prioritize just being alone and recharging your social battery. Yeah, I agree. Those are great points. Aaron, I also love just hanging out with friends and laughing with them and walking my dog. I think getting outside is just such a great way to exercise and just reconnect with nature. I would back both of those. I like a balance between, like, the two of them, so like, I'll read and be with myself for a little bit. But then I also love hanging out with friends, but I think it is crucial to find a balance between them, so then you are getting the self care that you need and not overrunning yourself. Awesome. Yeah. So throughout our discussion, it's become clear that self care is a deeply personal journey. There's no one size fits all approach to taking care of yourself. Instead, each person has their own unique ways of practicing self care. So while there isn't a definite formula for self care, what matters most is funny. What works best for you when it comes to self care, there are many misconceptions that need to be addressed. It's crucial to recognize that self care is essential for everyone's well being, and that prioritizing your health is incredibly important. So therefore I'll bring to the group, what stereotypes have we heard about self care that is mostly seen in our society? Like, for example, self care can be seen as selfish by some people, I think. And that's because people think that, like, if you only care about yourself and work on yourself, you're not like prioritizing, like social well, being with like everybody else. But as we said, like, social well being could be self care as well by, like, going out and talking to people. So I think that's a huge one, where people are like, I don't want to take time for myself, because it's seen as selfish. And I will add to that, because I also think that, like, if you're prioritizing yourself, sometimes that can reflect some of your friends, like your friendships, and if your friends are like, oh, like, she's spending a lot of time alone after work. Like, sometimes that's what I need, right? And like, I will hang out with you. But again, bringing up, like, bringing that balance into it, and that you're not being selfish, you're taking care of yourself, and that is your main priority, always, and then making sure that you're taking care of your friendships and your family as well. Yeah, I agree. And also, I think that it's really easy to think that doing things that aren't productive, like that you don't see as productive is selfish, like watching TV or playing video games or like something like that, but like at the end of the day, it's whatever you need to make yourself feel better. Yeah. Unfortunately, I find, typically, when people talk about self care, the stereotypes have associated that they have issues, which is not true at all. I find that everyone's got like, a battery, and just taking your time to yourself is recharging that battery before you kind of, like, go back out into the social world. So that's that's what I've heard. But yeah, yeah. And to go off that, it's like people think that you need to get to a certain like place to do self care, that you need to be, like, completely burnt out and like unregulated to do self care. But self care can be like, added into every single day so that you don't get to that point. You could include it in part of your routine, which I think would be extremely beneficial. That's what I do, too. Every time when the school year starts after nine o'clock at night, I don't do any school work. I just hang out, do whatever I need to do with friends, read a book, video games, TV, core, go to sleep, yeah, yeah. And it may feel like it's impacting your like productivity, but it's really not, because the next day, you're gonna be more energized. You're gonna feel more calm, less stressed. Sure, another myth that we can talk about. Is that self care requires a lot of time or a lot of money. But the thing is, is that a lot of these self care things that you can do don't, you know, require a lot of time or money, right? Like taking a walk, that is, you know, that could be whether you want to do a 10 minute walk or a 30 minute walk or an hour walk, that doesn't take any time, meditating, journaling can be done with like, little to no cost, and you get to choose the amount of time that you take with that. Um, then we'll do another myth that self care is only for when you're burned out, which is not true at all, because, like, your level of burnout is very different compared to other people's. And also, like, you don't need to be burnout, like, I could have just not had a great day at work, and I just need, or I've had a great day, and I still want to prioritize self care, so there's really no limits within that. And going back to like, kind of, like, it's selfish in self care is kind of seeing them about, like, only pampering yourself and doing it like, only for you. But no, this is like setting boundaries and just making sure that we do have that balance, as we've talked about, and prioritizing your house, as Erin said, that is above all else. So yeah, it is really different for every single person, which we determined as well. Yeah, and it's really apparent how just like, specific self care to be to each person, and how it's important for it to be unique. It doesn't have to look the same as your friends or your moms or anything like that. It's whatever you really need, whether that's seeking therapy or just prioritizing your health all around so breaking down these stereotypes helps make self care more accessible and realistic for everyone. It's about recognizing that taking care of yourself is not only necessary but also a natural and important part of living a balanced life. By challenging these misconceptions, we can make self care a more inclusive, practical and integrated part of our daily lives. As summer winds down and students prepare to head back to school, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of new schedules, supplies and social dynamics. However, one crucial aspect often gets overlooked in the excitement and stress of the new school year, self care to help you understand why this period is so important for prioritizing your well being. Let's break down the top three main reasons why self care matters now more than ever, transitioning back to routine, returning to a structured school environment after break can be overwhelming. Self care helps manage this transition by maintaining a sense of balance and reducing anxiety, simple practices like setting aside quiet time for yourself or engaging in relaxing activities can ease the shift back into an academic life. So like even setting yourself like a schedule, or just like I said earlier, just after 9pm no no school work, just hanging out that time for yourself can be very important. So another one is managing stress. So the demands of school can pile up quickly, from assignments and extracurricular activities to social pressures, incorporating self care routines such as regular exercise, healthy eating and sufficient sleep can improve resilience and help manage stress levels effectively. So examples of this would be like eating properly and having a really healthy sleep routine. So, you know, making sure that you're not staying up till 2am and sleeping until 1pm right? Like, I definitely think a good sleep schedule. It's different for everybody, but personally, I enjoy like bedtime, like 10pm and then obviously have to get up for work, so that's like 8am and it varies for everybody, but making sure that you're getting a good amount of sleep every night will really help with managing stress. And another important topic is boosting your mental health. So starting a new school year often brings its own set of emotional challenges, and self care plays a pivotal role in maintaining mental health, offering ways to unwind and recharge like practicing mindfulness and journaling or talking to a trusted friend or adult These can all support your emotional well being and help students navigate any feelings or anxiety when going back into the school year. Really good example is like journaling, it's really easy as students to just like, kind of pile everything up, because you may not feel like you have the time to deal with it, but once you get that get that time to journal, you're able to release that in a healthy way. All right. So in summary, we have concluded that self care is not just about pampering yourself, it's a strategic approach to managing transitions, building resilience and setting up healthy habits as you prepare for the new school semester, remember that prioritizing your well being will help you navigate these changes with greater ease and effectiveness. As we wrap up this episode, let's reflect on the key takeaways about self care. We've explored how self care is not a one size fits all practice, but a deeply personal journey tailored to an individual's needs and preferences. We've debunked some common stereotypes, recognizing that self care is not selfish, expensive or limited to certain groups, it's a universal necessity that can be simple and inclusive. And as we transition from summer into the new school semester, remember that self care is particularly important during this time of change, whether it's easing back into routines, building resilience for upcoming challenges. Or establishing healthy habits early on, self care plays a vital role in supporting your overall well being. There are many different resources out there that you can access easily, such as Active Minds, headspace and calm. Are all apps that you can find on the App Store that are free of charge, that can help you with meditation and mindfulness, and also always know that you can call 24/7, if you need immediate help with any of your mental health, thank you for tuning in and joining the conversation today, we hope you leave with a fresh perspective on self care and practical ideas to incorporate into your life. Take care of yourselves with each other, and we'll catch you next time bye.