Stress Management Management Techniques How Stress Impacts Your Health Guide How Stress Impacts Your Health Guide Overview Signs of Burnout Stress and Weight Gain Stress Reduction Tips Self-Care Practices Mindful Living 5 Self-Care Practices for Every Area of Your Life By Elizabeth Scott, PhD Elizabeth Scott, PhD Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing. Learn about our editorial process Updated on February 13, 2023 Learn more." data-inline-tooltip="true"> Medically reviewed Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS Medically reviewed by Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change. Learn about our Medical Review Board Print Self-care, as the name suggests, is all about caring for yourself to ensure that both your physical and emotional needs are met. All the stress relief activities in the world won't help if you aren't taking care of yourself. Meditation won't do you any good if you aren't getting adequate sleep. In fact, when you try to meditate, you might doze off because you aren't taking care of your body's need for sleep. Similarly, hitting the gym once in a while won't relieve much stress if you're not regularly fueling your body with healthy, nutrient-dense food. You need to take care of your basic needs first if you want your stress relief activities to be effective. This article discusses some of the different types of self-care and why they are so important. It also covers some of the things that you can do to develop a self-care plan of your own. Mental Health in the Workplace Webinar On May 19, 2022, Verywell Mind hosted a virtual Mental Health in the Workplace webinar, hosted by Amy Morin, LCSW. If you missed it, check out this recap to learn ways to foster supportive work environments and helpful strategies to improve your well-being on the job. What Is Self-Care? Self-care has been defined as "a multidimensional, multifaceted process of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being." Essentially, self-care means a conscious act people take in order to promote their own physical, mental, and emotional health. There are many forms that good self-care can take. It could be ensuring you get enough sleep every night or stepping outside for a few minutes for some fresh air. It can also mean taking the time to do the things that you enjoy doing. Self-care is vital for building resilience toward those stressors in life that you can't eliminate. When you've taken steps to care for your mind and body, you'll be better equipped to live your best life. Unfortunately, however, many people view self-care as a luxury, rather than a priority. Consequently, they're left feeling overwhelmed, tired, and ill-equipped to handle life's inevitable challenges. It's important to assess how you're caring for yourself in several different domains so you can ensure you're caring for your mind, body, and spirit. Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin "This Is Us" Star Chrissy Metz on Work-Life Balance Different Types of Self-Care Self-care isn't just about finding ways to relax. It's about taking care of yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. In order to care for your health and well-being, it is important to find a balance that allows you to address each of these areas. Sometimes you might need more self-care in one specific area in order to restore balance or find relief from a stressor in your life. The seven pillars of self-care fall into the following areas: physical, social, mental, spiritual, emotional, recreational, and environmental. 1 Physical Self-Care You need to take care of your body if you want it to run efficiently. Keep in mind that there's a strong connection between your body and your mind. When you're caring for your body, you'll think and feel better too. Physical self-care includes how you're fueling your body, how much sleep you're getting, how much physical activity you are doing, and how well you're caring for your physical needs. Attending healthcare appointments, taking medication as prescribed, and managing your health are all part of good physical self-care. When it comes to physical self-care, ask yourself the following questions to assess whether there might be some areas you need to improve:Are you getting adequate sleep?Is your diet fueling your body well?Are you taking charge of your health?Are you getting enough exercise? 2 Social Self-Care Socialization is key to self-care. But, often, it's hard to make time for friends and it's easy to neglect your relationships when life gets busy. Close connections are important to your well-being. The best way to cultivate and maintain close relationships is to put time and energy into building your relationships with others. There isn't a certain number of hours you should devote to your friends or work on your relationships. Everyone has slightly different social needs. The key is to figure out what your social needs are and to build enough time in your schedule to create an optimal social life. To assess your social self-care, consider:Are you getting enough face-to-face time with your friends?What are you doing to nurture your relationships with friends and family? 3 Mental Self-Care The way you think and the things that you're filling your mind with greatly influence your psychological well-being. Mental self-care includes doing things that keep your mind sharp, like puzzles, or learning about a subject that fascinates you. You might find reading books or watching movies that inspire you fuels your mind. Mental self-care also involves doing things that help you stay mentally healthy. Practicing self-compassion and acceptance, for example, helps you maintain a healthier inner dialogue. Here are a couple of questions to consider when you think about your mental self-care:Are you making enough time for activities that mentally stimulate you?Are you doing proactive things to help you stay mentally healthy? Best Mental Health Apps 4 Spiritual Self-Care Research shows that a lifestyle including religion or spirituality is generally a healthier lifestyle. Nurturing your spirit, however, doesn't have to involve religion. It can involve anything that helps you develop a deeper sense of meaning, understanding, or connection with the universe. Whether you enjoy meditation, attending a religious service, or praying, spiritual self-care is important. As you consider your spiritual life, ask yourself:What questions do you ask yourself about your life and experience?Are you engaging in spiritual practices that you find fulfilling? 5 Emotional Self-Care It's important to have healthy coping skills to deal with uncomfortable emotions, like anger, anxiety, and sadness. Emotional self-care may include activities that help you acknowledge and express your feelings regularly and safely. Whether you talk to a partner or close friend about how you feel, or you set aside time for leisure activities that help you process your emotions, it's important to incorporate emotional self-care into your life. When assessing your emotional self-care strategies, consider these questions:Do you have healthy ways to process your emotions?Do you incorporate activities into your life that help you feel recharged? Why Is Self-Care Important? Having an effective self-care routine has been shown to have a number of important health benefits. Some of these include: Reducing anxiety and depression Reducing stress and improving resilience Improving happiness Increasing energy Reducing burnout Stronger interpersonal relationships According to the World Health Organization (WHO), self-care is important because it can help promote health, prevent disease, and help people better cope with illness. Specific forms of self-care have also been linked to different health and wellness benefits, including a longer life. Exercise, finding a sense of purpose in life, and sleep have all been connected to an increased lifespan. Develop Your Self-Care Plan An effective self-care plan should be tailored to your life and your needs. It needs to be something created by you, for you. Customizing your own self-care plan can act as a preventative measure to make sure that you don't get overwhelmed, overstressed, and burned out. Assess which areas of your life need some more attention and self-care. And reassess your life often. As your situation changes, your self-care needs are likely to shift too. As you are building your self-care plan, the following steps can be helpful: Assess your needs: Make a list of the different parts of your life and major activities that you engage in each day. Work, school, relationships, and family are some you might list. Consider your stressors: Think about the aspects of these areas that cause stress and consider some ways you might address that stress. Devise self-care strategies: Think about some activities that you can do that will help you feel better in each of these areas of your life. Spending time with friends or developing boundaries, for example, can be a way to build healthy social connections. Plan for challenges: When you discover that you're neglecting a certain aspect of your life, create a plan for change. Take small steps: You don't have to tackle everything all at once. Identify one small step you can take to begin caring for yourself better. Schedule time to focus on your needs: Even when you feel like you don't have time to squeeze in one more thing, make self-care a priority. When you're caring for all aspects of yourself, you'll find that you are able to operate more effectively and efficiently. Press Play for Advice on Being Human Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares what it means to be 'wholly human,' featuring GRAMMY award-winning singer LeAnn Rimes. Click below to listen now. Follow Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts A Word From Verywell The demands of your daily life can dictate what type of self-care you might need the most. A self-care plan for a busy college student who feels mentally stimulated all the time and has a bustling social life might need to emphasize physical self-care. A retired person, on the other hand, may need to incorporate more social self-care into their schedule to make sure that their social needs are being met. Self-care isn't a one size fits all strategy. Your self-care plan will need to be customized to your needs and what is currently going on in your life. You don't want to wait until you've reached your breaking point. The goal is to take steps each day to make sure that you are getting what you need to deal with the stress and challenges you face in your daily life. If you or a loved one are struggling with a mental health condition, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area. For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database. Editors' Picks: The Self-Care Strategies We're Holding Onto As We Return to Office 14 Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Dorociak KE, Rupert PA, Bryant FB, Zahniser E. Development of a self-care assessment for psychologists. 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Association of leisure-time physical activity across the adult life course with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(3):e190355. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.0355 Alimujiang A, Wiensch A, Boss J, et al. Association between life purpose and mortality among us adults older than 50 years. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(5):e194270. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4270 Yin J, Jin X, Shan Z, Li S, Huang H, Li P, Peng X, Peng Z, Yu K, Bao W, Yang W, Chen X, Liu L. Relationship of sleep duration with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. J Am Heart Assoc. 2017;6(9):e005947. doi:10.1161/JAHA.117.005947. By Elizabeth Scott, PhD Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? 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