Prioritizing Self-Care

Have you heard, “Take care of yourself!” or “Do something for yourself!” and thought, “How would I even do that? Where would I start?”

It can feel frustrating when people talk about self-care like it should be easy to fit into our busy lives. But we need to care about self-care!

Why Care About Self-Care?

If you’re a parent or caregiver, it can feel even more difficult to practice self-care! Caring for a child is hard emotionally and physically. We can get so busy taking care of everything and everyone else that we forget to take care of our own needs.

Not taking care of yourself can lead to:

• Exhaustion
• Anger
• Less patience
• Depression

These symptoms can then make it harder to parent the way we want to parent, sometimes leading us to respond to our children a little grumpier or less patient. It might be hard to make time to take care of you, but keep in mind it is hard to perform our best when we are low on fuel. We have to make sure we are filling our tanks before we run out of gas.

How Can I Start Practicing Self-Care?

How do you shift your thinking to caring for yourself without feeling guilty or overwhelmed?

You may have heard ideas in the past like get enough sleep, go for a run, take a long shower, meditate or journal. Those can be great, but maybe not for everyone. Self-care is not “one size fits all.”

So instead of suggesting specific activities, use the tips as you decide what will work the best for you:

• Start off small - little changes can help a lot
• One change in one area can make things better in others
• It’s about progress, not perfection
• Be sure to make sure you pick something that is important to you
• Lean on people who care about you
• Be kind to your self - treat yourself the way you treat someone you love

Structuring Self-Care

To get started, come up with a goal you feel will help you reduce stress. Then come up with some ideas. Select the one that you think will work best for you and try it out. If it doesn’t work, try one of your other ideas. We have a few examples, but you will want to create ones that work for you.

Example 1: Get enough sleep

Goal: Having more energy or being in a better mood.

Ideas:

• Turn off screens 15 minutes earlier.
• Try deep breathing or a short meditation.
• If your child interrupts sleep often, ask your partner or family member for help.

Example 2: Do something you enjoy

Goal: Reduce stress and overall happiness

Ideas:

• Write a list of activities that bring joy and value.
• Look over our mental health fitness challenge for ideas.
• Make a list of people who you haven’t connected with recently but would like to.
• Schedule one or two things from your list to do this week.

Example 3: Schedule an appointment

Goal: Take better care of my health

Ideas:

• Make a list of the appointments you have neglected for yourself (doctor, dentist, counselor etc.)
• Schedule at least one appointment.
• Schedule time to move your body – going to the gym, for a walk, or strength training.

Example 4:  Get out of the house

Goal: Increase connection

Ideas:

• Learn about the events and community groups nearby. Write down ones you might like
• Go to a park or out in nature.
• Share kindness – maybe hold the door or give a compliment to someone you see.

Example 5: Stay in the house

Goal: Find more time to rest

Ideas:

• Look at your current commitments: Are you overly scheduled? Identify one or two ways to scale back.
• Practice saying “No” or “Let me think about it” when asked to do something.
• Identify what helps you rest at home and make a list, so when you have the time, you can do it!

Self-care is so important! As parents and caregivers, we want the best for our kids and families, so to be our best selves for them we must fill our tanks by taking care of ourselves.